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udies in Citizenship 

FOR 

Georgia Women 


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PUBLISHED BY 

ATLANTA LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS 
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 






































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vy%t/Y] OPU>, 

STUDIES IN CITIZENSHIP 

FOR 

GEORGIA WOMEN 


EDITED BY 

MRS. R. L. TURMAN 


FOR THE 


ATLANTA LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS 


MRS. NEWTON C. WING 

BUSINESS MANAGER 



ATLANTA. GA. 

KEEL1N PRINTING COMPANY 











* 






TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Lesson I.The Growing Importance of Popular Education 

.in Politics. 

By John Garland Pollard, LL. B., LL. D. 

Lesson II....Citizenship and the State. 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson III...The Departments of Government 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson IV...The Elective Franchise 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson V.The Legislature 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson VI..The Limited Powers of the Governor 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson VII.The Executive Department 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson VIII.....The Judiciary 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson IX.... Taxation 

By James A. Hollomon 

Lesson X.How the State’s Millions Come and Go 

By H. L. Fullbright 

Lesson XI...What the State Does for the Farmer 

By Hon. Martin V. Calvin 

Lesson XII..-__Our Public Schools 

By Dr. N. LI. Ballard, Superintendent of Education 

Lesson XIII.County Government 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson XIV ..City Government 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson XV....'...System of Primary Elections 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Lesson XVI...How r a Bill Goes Through the Legislature 

By Hon. John T. Boifeuillet 




















EDITOR’S NOTE 


We have come to a new day when the newly enfran¬ 
chised women are expected, without any definite prepa¬ 
ration, to be able to cast an intelligent vote. Now men 
seem to be able to absorb, without any effort on their part 
all that they need to know, but women, with their pro¬ 
verbial curiosity, are anxious to know more about the 
principles of government, and of the policies and issues 
involved in political campaigns, than they are able to ex¬ 
tract from the thin air. 

These studies have been prepared with the idea of 
putting before the women in concrete form the funda¬ 
mentals of Georgia government and politics. 

The editor wishes gratefully to acknowledge the in¬ 
terest of the gentlemen who have so generously contrib¬ 
uted of their time and talents to this work for Georgia 
women. 

Women have never failed to respond to their country’s 
call in time of war, but I long to see women as patriotic in 
peace as they are in war. And let us not forget that “our 
country needs a hero very seldom, but she needs a good 
citizen every day.” 

Maud Pollard Turman. 

Mrs. R. L. Turman 
337 Myrtle St. 

Atlanta, Ga. 



Lesson I. 


THE GROWING IMPORTANCE OF POPULAR 
EDUCATION IN POLITICS 

by Dr. John Garland Pollard 

(The author of this article is professor of Government and Citiizenship at 
the College of William and Mary. He delivered this address at the George Wash¬ 
ington University on February 22, 1923.) 

“Popular government without popular education is but a prologue 
to a farce or to a tragedy, or both.” 

When these words were spoken by James Madison, our govern¬ 
ment touched us but lightly and remotely. But now in the progress 
of time it has grown into a gigantic business machine, gathering for 
its sustenance billions of dollars of the earnings of the people each 
year. And its growth cannot be measured in money alone. The sub¬ 
jects with which it deals have grown in number and magnitude. Its 
scope is ever enlarging. Year by year with steady stride it ad¬ 
vances into fields once occupied exclusively by private endeavor. 
Each year finds it in some new territory. 

If popular education was important to the government in Madi¬ 
son’s time, the reason now obtains with ten-fold force, for the hand 
of the government is upon us every day and in every way. From the 
cradle to the grave it effects our interests at every stage of our ex¬ 
istence. It comes home to every individual. Yea, it not only comes 
into our homes, but has recently descended into our cellars. Its ac¬ 
tivities are omni-present. Its demands are insatiable. 

There are today plainly seen certain distinct tendencies which 
increase the importance of more widespread interest and information 
in public affairs. 

First: The ever increasing financial demands which our govern¬ 
ments are making on our property and earnings. 

Second: The increasing growth in the number of ways in which 
the government touches our daily lives as individuals. 

Third: The great number of organizations representing special 
classes, trades or callings which are forming to obtain or defeat 
legislation in specified fields. 

Fourth: The growth of a disposition on the part of our execu¬ 
tives and legislators not to lead in the formation of public opinion 
but to postpone taking a position until after public opinion is formed. 


6 


Studies in Citizenship foe Geoeuia Women 


These tendencies are by no means all evil, yet all of them are 
full of danger unless the proportion of alert, well-informed citizens 
is rapidly increased. It is true that general education does much to 
counteract the evils in these tendencies, but the kind of education 
upon which we must chiefly rely for improvement and perpetuation 
of our institutions is education in political theory and practice. The 
chief, if not only, justification of education at the public expense is 
that the people may be so trained as to become wise sovereigns. Per¬ 
haps none of these tendencies will ever be checked, but the situation 
brought about by them must be met by popular education in politics 
to be accomplished through the schools and colleges and patriotic 
organizations. 

We cannot reasonably hope that the burdens of taxation will ever 
be less. There are undoubtedly some items upon which our govern¬ 
ments are spending far too much and drastic cuts must be made, but 
there are some other objects upon which governmental expenditures 
will and should be increased; among them are education and good 
roads. 


The number of governmental activities likewise will continue to 
increase with the density of the population and the more complcated 
conditions of modern life. These new agencies require money for 
their support. We hear the multiplication of bureaus and depart¬ 
ments condemned on all sides, and yet when you ask the critic to 
list the new agencies he would dispense with, you may usually silence 
his criticism. 


There is little likelihood that the number of organizations repre¬ 
senting special classes, trades or callings will ever be fewer than they 
are o ay. eir legitimate functions are so apparent that their 
mu“cu“bed. diSC0UrafCed ' Their evil tendencies, however. 


There will always be in public life a large number of men who 
wi 1 take no part in moulding public opinion. Many conscientiously 
believe that they are mere registers of public opinion and that it is 
not their duty to take part in its formation. Men who pursue this 
course are the men who usually remain longest in public life This 
class of politician seems now to be the most popular with the voters 

™ 1 a S , We ,, h0pe WiU "<* a!wa y s be ^e. The more intelligent the Elec¬ 
torate the more and more they will demand qualities of leadership 
m their representatives, yet the fact remains that the public men 
w ose policy is to give their constituents what they want without 
undertaking m any way to influence their choice will always com 
tinue in public life in large numbers. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


7 


PART I. 

It has been estimated that our governments, national, state and 
local, absorb one-seventh of the income of all the people of the 
United States. Or to put it another way, our governments have be¬ 
come so huge as to take in taxes the total income of all the people for 
one-seventh of their time. An amount equal to all the fruits of our 
labor for this calender year up to today (Feb. 22) went into the pub¬ 
lic tills. Just today the people stopped working for the governments 
and began work for themselves. 

Of course I do not mean that every citizen pays one-seventh of 
his income in taxes, but I do mean that the average citizen is burden¬ 
ed in approximately that proportion by taxes directly paid by him 
plus those indirect taxes passed on to him by others and which are 
hidden away in the cost of everything he buys. These indirect taxes 
are no less burdensome than direct taxes, for there is but one 
source from which the government can derive its sustenance and 
that is from the earnings of the people. The only difference is in 
the degree of the consciousness of the burden. The indirect tax has 
proven less objectionable to the public, for taxation has been de¬ 
scribed as the art of so picking the goose as to get the greatest 
amount of feathers with the least amount of squawking. 

Ten years ago the per capita cost of the Federal Government was 
less than $4.00, now it is $60.00, and our bonded indebtedness 
amounts to $1,000.00 per family. The average cost of the state gov¬ 
ernments in 1913 was about $5.00 per capita and now it is $22.00 per 
capita. Taxes amount annually to more than 33 per cent of the total 
circulating medium and constitute a burden equal to $350.00 per fami¬ 
ly. In 1920, after the war had ended, 93 cents out of every dollar 
paid into the national treasury went for pension obligations and debts 
contracted for past wars and for maintaining the army any navy 
for possible future wars. Only 6 cents out of every dollar went to 
the ordinary expenses of the government, such as Congress, courts, 
executive departments, public buildings, rivers, harbors, roads and 
the like, and only one cent out of every dollar was devoted by the 
national government to scientific and educational work. 

This array -'of facts shows that from now on each citizen must* 
consider his taxes as a substantial part of his individual budget, andi 
for business reasons, if none other, he must pay attention to and par¬ 
ticipate in the conduct of the government under which he lives. 




8 


Studies in Citizenship foe Geoegia Women 


PART II. 

But as I have indicated, this story can not be told in terms of 
dollars and cents. Every meeting of our legislative bodies adds to 
the list of governmental activities. Witness the recent maternity 
laws, showing that the government is concerning itself about the in¬ 
dividual even before he is born. When he comes into being his birth 
is made a permanent legal record. The government then begins to 
look after the food for the infant and seeks to protect the purity of 
the supply through food inspection laws. It knows that the growing 
child must be the special object of its protection against contagious 
diseases, and our government undertakes to prevent their spread. 
When the child is old enough, the government leads it to the school 
room. Yea, it pulls him in, through compulsory education laws. 
There it takes charge of his training, following him through the 
grades into the high schools and undertaking to give direction to his 
life by providing special courses. It also provides colleges and uni¬ 
versities where he may further pursue his studies and fit himself for 
business and the professions. 

Nor is this all. He can not become a lawyer, a doctor, a dentist, 
a teacher, or even an undertaker without standing an examination 
prescribed by law. When the young man steps out into life it is the 
government which largely prescribes the conditions under wihch his 
young life shall be spent; whether he shall be surrounded by tempta¬ 
tions of the gambling den, the bootlegger, and the social evils which 
the government undertakes to fight. When the young man gets mar¬ 
ried, he can not do so except in the manner and in the form prescribed 
by the government; and then after he is married and comes unde 
the dominion of his wife, surely we would say that it is time for the 
government to let him alone, but not so, it decrees that he shall sup¬ 
port that wife and sends him to jail if he does not. The government 
also requires the father to support his children by furnishing them 
shelter, food and clothing, the prices of which are substantially af¬ 
fected by taxes fixed by the government. And so it is that the 
government follows the citizen all through his life, prescribing the 
conditions under which he shall conduct his business and how much 
of his earnings he must give up in taxes. Yea, it follows you down 
to your dying day, and after you are dead it prescribes how long 
your body shall be kept out of the ground. Nor is this the last of 
the government. It then takes charge of your estate, takes what it 
wants for itself in the shape of inheritance taxes and then dis¬ 
tributes the residue among your heirs and the lawyers. And the 
government would not even stop here, but would go further, I fancy, 
and levy a tax on your happiness or misery in the next world, but 
fortunately for you, the tax collector never knows which way you 
have gone. Other concerns of life begin with the cradle and end 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


9 


with the grave, but not so with the government. It reaches out for 
you before you are born and lives on what you leave after you are 
dead and gone. And yet some people think they are giving evidence 
of their wisdom when they state they are too busy to have anything 
to do with politics. 


PART III. 

The day is marked by the formation of numerous organizations 
for the advancement of the interests of particular classes, trades or 
callings. The very fact that they represent a class rather than the 
general public makes it unsafe for the people to allow them to acquire 
too much power. 

Many of these organizations have their headquarters in Wash¬ 
ington where they maintain paid secretaries whose duty is to watch 
legislation which may effect their interests. These organized mi¬ 
norities exert influence over Congress far out of proportion to the 
number of citizens interested. A few thousand men interested in 
the passage or defeat of a piece of legislation, men who are earnest 
and have memories which last until election day, have far more in¬ 
fluence on legislators rather than the unorganized masses. The legis¬ 
lator, of course, knows that these organizations represent minorities, 
but he also knows if he pleases them he can count on their help in his 
re-election and if he displeases them he can count on their vigorous 
opposition. He knows that if they make some unreasonable demand of 
him and he refuses to accede, that as a rule he can not make a suc¬ 
cessful appeal to the majorities on the ground that he has withstood 
the unreasonable demands of these organized minorities. He knows it 
is difficult and often impossible to arouse the majority from their in¬ 
difference and that on election day they will give him little credit for 
resisting unreasonable demands. 

A convincing evidence of the power of organized minorities is 
shown by the recent disclosure by the head of one of our woman’s 
organizations who publicly states that she was offered $250,000 to 
lobby for a certain measure. Her organization represents a small mi¬ 
nority of women, but they are well organized, and the man who of¬ 
fered the compensation knew that what the public man fears is not 
the leaderless unorganized masses but the small compact bodies of 
voters who know what they want and are willing to fight for it. 

The situation is well illustrated by the familiar story of the stage 
driver who had become so expert in the use of his whip that he could 
with unfailing aim, pick off with his lash any leaf from the trees 
which overhung the highway. One day he was driving under a tree 
where there was an overhangng hornet’s nest and a passenger asked 



10 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


him why he did not pick the nest off with the end of his whip. He 
replied, “Stranger, that thing is organized.” 

Legislators, state and federal, know that much unwise legislation 
is accomplished in the way indicated and that much good legislation 
is thus defeated. The only way to lessen this evil is to increase the 
number of well informed voters who will support public men in their 
opposition to the unreasonable demands of organized minorities. In 
theory, the public man before each effort for re-election submits his 
record to the scrutiny of his constituents, but the truth is that the ma¬ 
jority of them know little and care little about what their represen¬ 
tatives have done, while there is always the compact minority who do 
not know and do not care. It is this minority which the candidate 
often seeks to please, for he knows that by their activity they can 
change a few thousand votes which may decide his political fate. The 
evil of this condition will grow less and less just in proportion as the 
number of well informed disinterested citizens increases. 


PART IV. 

I have referred to the growth of the disposition on the part of our 
representatives not to lead in the formation of public opinion but to 
postpone stating their own position until after public opinion is 
formed. I think history shows that there was once in our legisla¬ 
tive halls a larger proportion of men who were creators of public 
sentiment. 

I am not libeling our present day public men. Let us here see 
what one of their number has to say on the subject. Some years ago 
I spoke in this city at a banquet of the friends of this institution. 
Uncle Joe Cannon, who has been in Congress whereof the memory of 
man runneth not to the contrary, was called on for a speech. The old 
man arose and in a most impressive way began to deplore the timidi¬ 
ty of his colleagues in Congress; he pictured them as dodging out 
into the cloak room and corridors when a vote was about to be taken 
on a question concerning which their constituents were divided. He 
then raised his long bony arms and with great feeling and emphasis 
said, “Gentlemen, if I had my way, I would abolish the office of Chap¬ 
lain of Congress and instead of having an opening prayer, I would 
require all my colleagues to join their hands and sing the good old 
gospel hymn ‘Increase My Courage Lord’.” 

One of the greatest tasks of the day is to encourage the disposi¬ 
tion on the part of the people to appreciate and honor those public 
men who fight for principle and to despise those who dodge great is¬ 
sues just as we despise those who flee when their country calls to 
arms. We have often heard it said that peace hath its victories no 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


11 


less renowned than war, that the country’s greatest good has been 
accomplished by the efforts of noble men and women in time of 
peace, and yet while we make heroes of men who face death in time of 
battle, we have little to say in praise of those heroes of peace who 
sacrificed their personal interests in the advocacy of measures they be¬ 
lieve to be conducive to the public good. On the other hand we find 
ourselves honoring men who hold their public positions by reason of 
their failure to take a decided stand on public questions, and the pub¬ 
lic man who is really willing to fight for the public good is often 
considered a stubborn disturber of the party’s peace and unavailable 
for party honors. 

The demand that our public men should have courage must be¬ 
come more widespread. Our political situation is full of problems 
of the greatest importance with which our public men fear to grapple 
because of the antagonisms which they might thus create. The reme¬ 
dy is to increase the number of voters who will demand of all those 
entrusted with leadership and all who ask the people thus to honor 
them, that they aid in the solution of the important questions relating 
to the office they hold or to which they aspire. We must create a 
public sentiment which will look on the failure of a public man to 
take a stand when such questions are at issue as a display of cow¬ 
ardice not to be tolerated. The battles of peace can not be won under 
cowardly leadership any more than wars can be won under 
cowardly military officers. The public man whose chief concern is 
getting elected is as useless to his country as a soldier whose chief 
concern is his own personal safety. A greater number of the people 
must be stirred to oppose those public men who are afraid to advo¬ 
cate measures concerning which there is a difference of opinion. 

The wrongs of government will not be righted by such men. On 
the other hand their presence in politics can but retard the pro¬ 
cesses of improvement. And yet let it be sadly admitted that the at¬ 
titude of the average voter encourages such timidity. The average 
voter seems to delight in voting for a “good fellow” who never of¬ 
fends anybody by disagreeing with them. We are prone to forget 
that no wrong is ever righted without giving offense to somebody, 
and the number of people offended is often in proportion to the 
wrong to be corrected. I have sometimes heard good men justify 
politicians in their evasive policies. They say they can not blame 
candidates for getting all the votes they can. But if a man is un¬ 
willing to get dollars by deception, how can he justify getting votes 
by the same method. And if it is wrong to get rich by fraud and 
concealment, how can getting office by the same method be justified? 
We look with toleration and often with admiration upon the slickness 
of the politician who cleverly avoids any issue, who never leads pub¬ 
lic sentiment but who always follows, who has no convictions, who 



12 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


entertains no worthy aspirations but whose only desire is to remain 
in power for selfish purposes. Such men invariably change as their 
personal interests dictate, they do not belong to those brave spirits 
who fight and win the battles for right. They are mere camp follow¬ 
ers who live on the spoils of war. They fill their greedy hands with, 
the plunder of patronage, the by-product of the hard fought battles 
of peace in which brave men risk and often lose their political lives. 

But our public men are what the people make them. Many a pol¬ 
itician would be a statesman if the people would only allow him to 
be. The lack of political information and interest is responsible for 
cowardice in public life. The experienced politician knows that only 
about once in a decade do the masses of the people have spasms of 
political activity, while he is daily impressed with the fact that if he 
wants to keep in public life he must please that organized minority 
which never forgets. If such minority happens to be good, then he 
is good. If it happens to be bad, then he is no better. 

I would not excuse a candidate for unholy alliances, but surety 
those of us are not innocent who by our indifference make such al¬ 
liances profitable, thus putting temptation in our brother's way. 

In the days of duelling, men were required by public sentiment 
to settle their disputes on the so-called field of honor. John Hamden 
Pleasants, a Virginia editor, was one of the great men whose life 
was sacrificed to this cruel sentiment. At his funeral, attended by a 
large and influential gathering of the citizens of Richmond, the min¬ 
ister dwelling on the evil of public sentiment which required men to 
fight when challenged, at the end of his discourse, pointing down to the 
casket which enclosed the victim’s remains, solemnly and impressively 
said, “There lies the body of John Hamden Pleasants,” and then look¬ 
ing up into the faces of the great audience the preacher dramatically 
exclaimed, “and ye are his murderers!” And so I have sometimes 
thought that it might be justly said of the citizens of this country 
that their indifference to public affairs, stiffles and oft times kills the 
patriotism and courage of our public men, for they can but remember 
the political death of so many of their contemporaries who had earn¬ 
estly taken up the cause of the people against organized minorities 
only to be forgotten by the people on election day and left to be slain 
on the battlefield. 

The task of our universities and colleges is to impress on our 
young men and women not only how vitally the government affects 
their own interest but to look on politics as an instrumentality of ser¬ 
vice to our fellow man. We must teach that that man is a grafter 
who gets more out of the community in which he lives than he puts 
back in service, and that the neglect of one’s duty to his country is 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


13 


second only in disgrace to neglect of one’s family. We must impress 
the fact that the man who goes into politics for selfish reasons and 
the man who stays out of politics for selfish reasons are both bad citi¬ 
zens, and that there is little difference in the degree of guilt between 
the man who makes politics dirty and the man who refuses to help 
make politics clean. 

And now I may close by applying to my subject a lesson from the 
life of the great man whose birth we celebrate today and from whom 
this great university gets its name. The life of Washington illus¬ 
trated in all its completeness, the full duty of a citizen to his country. 
His service in peace was no less devoted than his service in war. 
Some great soldiers of history, when the din of battle had died from 
their ears, have sunk back into lives of ease and have disdained to 
take part in the battles of peace. But Washington knew that peace 
hath its victories no less renowned than war. He knew that a man’s 
patriotism in peace is measured by his interest in public affairs. He 
knew that war with all its horrors, its sufferings and its tears, has 
its roots in mistakes made in times of peace. To help his country 
avoid these mistakes, he left the shades of Mt. Vernon and went into 
public service. Today we are prone to think of Washington as the 
idol of all the people of his time, but not so. Even the father of his 
country had to bare his breast to the cruel darts of criticism from un¬ 
relenting political enemies, just as truly as he bared his breast to 
English bullets. Those who think that the soldiers of peace know 
not suffering, have never fought in a good cause. They see only the 
glamour of public office, they hear only the applause of the crowd, 
just as they see the soldiers of war on dress parade and hear the mar¬ 
tial music, but forget the hardships of camp and field. Yes, even the 
great Washington had his motives impugned, and his honesty ques¬ 
tioned and, I fancy, his suffering as a soldier of peace was more acute 
than his sufferings of a soldier of war. But he continued true to his 
duty and his life is a rebuke not only to slackers in time of war, but 
to those respectable citizens who prefer their own profit and ease to 
participation in the struggles which are now going on to correct the 
wrongs which still cling to government. Young ladies and gentle¬ 
men, the time may never come when you can help your country in 
time of war; but you can work for your country’s good in time of 
peace; and this means an intelligent interest in public affairs and an 
active participation in the support of men and measures which will 
most effectually establish justice and insure progress. 





14 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


QUESTIONS 

1— What are the tendencies of modern times that increase the 
importance of a popular interest in public affairs? 

2— What does the author suggest as the best way to counteract 
the evils in these tendencies? 

3— Is there any likelihood of any decrease in taxation? Give 
reasons for your answer. 

4— What effect will popular education have on the characters of 
“politicians” ? 

5— What part of the income of the United States is paid in 
taxes? To what is the increase in taxation due? 

6— Are individual citizens free from the restrictions of govern¬ 
mental activities? Give instances to prove your answer. 

7— What are “organized minorities” and what influence do they 
wield? 

8— How can the power of “organized minorities” be broken? 

9— What is the attitude of some public men towards the “forma¬ 

tion of public opinion”? 

10— What does the author suggest as the ideal requirements for 
men in public life? 

11— Is the attitude of the average voter any encouragement to 
improvement in politics? Explain your answer. 

12— What is the relationship between public men and the “peo¬ 
ple”? 

13— How may the colleges and universities help in the improve¬ 
ment of politics? 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


15 


Lesson II. 


CITIZENSHIP AND THE STATE. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander, Former Federal District Attorney. 

When we speak of the state of Georgia in a political or legal 
sense, we do not mean either the geographical division called Georgia, 
nor the people who inhabit it, but the organized society and its estab¬ 
lished government that has been set up within that geographical 
boundary, and which exercises legal control therein. But we must 
be careful also to avoid the common error of supposing that Georgia 
is either a subdivision of the United States, or exists by permission 
and authority of the United States. 

There is a far reaching difference between the relation of Fulton 
or De Kalb counties to the State of Georgia, and the relation of the 
State of Georgia to the United States. A county in Georgia has no 
legal existence as a subdivision of the State, and no right to exist ex¬ 
cept by will and permission of the State, and the State can, at any 
time, abolish a county or change its form of government. The 
State existed before the county did. The State created every coun¬ 
ty in it, and did so merely for its own convenience. It prescribes 
by law how the county shall be governed and what its powers shall 
be, and may change them at pleasure. Indeed, counties and cities 
are not indispensable to states at all. A state government can 
operate directly, though experience has proven that better results 
follow from the use of these subordinate local governments. 

The situation as to the states and their relation to the Union is 
quite different. The Union did not create the states; the states 
created the Union. Georgia existed as a state before there was any 
United States government at all. In the nature of things there can¬ 
not be a United States Government without states to be united. We 
will therefore consider the state of Georgia without any reference 
to the United States. 

The state of Georgia is said to be a sovereign state. This means 
that it exists by virtue of the will of the people who compose it, 
just as the French Government or the Greek Government exists. A 
state is merely a society of people residing in a given territory who 
unite together by common consent for certain declared purposes. 
These purposes are substantially the same in all American states, and 
are generally set out in the preamble of the Constitution. In Geor¬ 
gia, they are declared as follows: 



16 


Studies in Citizenship foe Georgia Women 


“To perpetuate the principles of government, insure justice to 
all, preserve peace, promote the interest and happiness of the citi¬ 
zen, and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty, the people of 
Georgia, relying upon the protection and guidance of Almighty GOD, 
do ordain and establish this Constitution.” 

In as much as the State is merely a society, it is proper to explain 
in what sense it is a society. Speaking generally, it is a society 
just exactly as a woman’s club is a society, or a church, or a labor 
union or a social club is a society. 

It might at first glance be thought that there is this difference, 
that the members of a social club join it voluntarily, while there may 
be persons who are compelled to be a part of the State. This differ¬ 
ence is more apparent than real, for an inhabitant of Georgia does 
not have to belong if he does not want to—he can leave. A member 
of a club can quit, but he can’t stay in the club if he quits. Indeed, 
membership in the society of Georgia is not so necessary as mem¬ 
bership in a club, for there are many people in Georgia who are not 
members, but are just permitted to remain—only they must obey 
the laws of the state if they remain. 

Now every organization has its own constitution and by laws. 
So does the Woman’s Club, and so do the churches. Exactly the 
same thing is true of a state. Georgia has its constitution, and just 
as a club has subordinate regulations which it calls by-laws, so the 
State has rules lower in dignity than its constitution. These it 
calls the laws, but they are just the same as the so-called by-laws of 
a club. 

Now, if a state is nothing more than a society, the question 
comes up as to who are the members of it, who compose it—and this 
brings us to the question of citizenship. 

A member of the society of Georgia is just a citizen of Georgia. 
People have an idea that there is something mysterious about citizen¬ 
ship. There is nothing mysterious about citizenship. A citizen is 
simply a member of the society and that is all there is to it. 

There is one point of difference between membership in a club 
and membership in a state. As a general rule the only way one can 
become a member of a club is to join it. You can join a state the 
same way, but most citizens inherit their citizenship. 

If you will recall what happened to the Apostle Paul when he re¬ 
turned to Jerusalem after his last missionary journey (Acts XXII, 
24-28) the chief captain of the Roman garrison was surprised and 
incredulous when Paul claimed to be a Roman citizen, and indicated 




Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


17 


his doubts by boasting that he had joined Rome and that it cost him 
a pretty penny to get in. But Paul quietly replied, “I was born free.” 

Who then are citizens? This is another point about which there 
is much misapprehension. Citizenship is not dependent upon the 
right to vote, as many people are citizens who are not allowed to vote. 
In some states there are many people allowed to vote who are not 
citizens. 

There were many people under the impression that women were 
not citizens until the amendment was adopted under which they vote. 
This is another mistake. Citizenship is defined as follows by the 
Constitution of the United States: 

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject 
to the jurisdiction thereof are citizens of the United States and of 
the States wherein they reside.” 

If you carefully examine the language, there is nothing to puzzle 
you about citizenship. Naturalization is merely the name for joining 
—not many are naturalized—Most citizens are like Paul, bom so. 
Therefore, the youngest baby in the State is a citizen. 

The only part of this definition that needs any explanation is the 
phrase “and subject to the jurisdiction thereof.” This is not im¬ 
portant and serves only to exclude the children of foreign ambassa¬ 
dors and the like, who may happen to be born here while their parents 
are resident here. These are not subject to our jurisdiction and there¬ 
fore are not citizens here. 

A state then, is an organized society of people, resident in a given 
territory, who maintain for their own purposes, an organized gov¬ 
ernment functioning according to a body of rules established by 
them. The members of the society are called citizens, and one be¬ 
comes a citizen either by birth or by adoption, otherwise called nat¬ 
uralization. 


QUESTIONS 

1— What do we mean when we speak of “The State”? 

2— Tell the difference between the relation of the county and 
the state and the state and the United States. 

3 — Quote from the constitution of Georgia as to the purpose of 
the organization of the state. 

4 — jg there any difference between membership in a state and in 
a social club? 

5— Who are citizens of Georgia? 

6— Is citizenship dependent upon the right to vote? 

7_How does the constitution of the United States define citizen¬ 

ship? 



18 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Lesson III. 

THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

A State, being a mere society of individuals, it would naturally 
follow in the absence of provision to the contrary, that the members 
of the society should have an equal voice in its management. That 
voice is expressed by the members, or citizens, in Georgia, at the 
ballot box, and the right to vote is generally referred to as the elec¬ 
tive franchise. 

It is usual for a state to provide in some way as to who shall en¬ 
joy this privilege. Manifestly it would be impractical for all to 
vote, and quite undesirable for same to vote. Children of tender 
years, for instance, can not vote and it is certainly undesirable that 
habitual criminals should vote. Then again it is a notion common to 
many states that persons who do not help to support the state ought 
not to have a voice in its affairs. 

The State determines who shall be qualified to vote. Except in 
two particulars, the United States government has no authority to 
meddle with that question at all. These exceptions will be discussed 
later. 

Subject to them, the state of Georgia, like all the other states, 
determines for itself who can vote, and proscribes the qualifications 
for voting. These qualifications differ widely in the several states, 
and they have often been changed in Georgia. The present require¬ 
ments are as follows: 

1. The voter must be 21 years old and a citizen of both this 
state and of the United States. 

2. He or she must have resided in the state one year next pre¬ 
ceding the election. 

3. He or she must have paid all taxes which have been required 
of him or her since 1877. 

4. Such payment must have been made at least six months 
prior to the election, unless this occurs within six months 
from the expiration of the time fixed for the payment of such 
taxes. 

All of the above requirements except the fourth, have been in 
force for more than forty years. The fourth requirement was added 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


19 


some years ago for the purpose of preventing certain evil practices 
in the way of paying up other people’s taxes on the eve of an election 
in order to qualify them. 

In addition to these, it was provided in the year 1908 that after 
that year the voter must also register as a voter in accordance with 
the requirements of law, so that, now, one might have all the original 
requirements and still not be entitled to vote because of not being 
also registered for that purpose. But there were other provisions 
made in 1905 which still further restricted the number. 

It was provided, in that year, that even though one had all the 
qualifications above enumerated, before he could either register or 
vote, he must be found to belong to one of five named classes as 
follows: 

1. Those who have served honorably in the land or naval forces 
of the United States in any of its wars down to the Spanish 
American war, or who had served in the land or naval forces 
of the Confederate States, or of the State of Georgia,in the 
War Between the States. 

2. All persons lawfully descended from persons in class 1. 

3. All persons who are of good character and who understand 
the duties and obligations of citizenship under a republican 
form of government. 

4 Persons possessing a certain degree of education. 

5. Persons owning a certain amount of property. 

It will be observed that a person is not required to fill all of these 
five qualifications, or belong to all five of these classes. Any one is 
sufficient, if he has the four qualifications first named. The right to 
register and vote under the first two classes, however, continued only 
until 1915, that is to say, persons could qualify and register as hav¬ 
ing been a soldier or as being a descendant of a soldier, until 1915, 
but no longer. If so registered, however, prior to 1915, such regis¬ 
tration is permanent. 

Reference has already been made to the fact that there are two 
exceptions to the general rule, which leaves to the states alone power 
to proscribe the qualifications for voting. Prior to the year 1870, the 
United States made no attempt to meddle with that question in any 
way, and the constitution of the United States affirmatively required 
that, in all elections for national officers, the voters in each state 
should be the same persons whom the State recognized as entitled to 
vote for members of the state legislature. 



20 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


In 1870, however, the Constitution of the United States amended 
by the adoption of the fifteenth amendment which provided as follows: 
“The right of the citizens of the United States to vote shall not be 
denied or abridged by the United States, or any state on account of 
race, color or previous condition of servitude." 

The purpose of this amendment was, of course, to secure the 
elective franchise to the negroes, but it should be carefully observed 
that it does exactly do this. Indeed, it was not intended to confer 
and does not confer on the negroes the right to vote, but merely for¬ 
bids the States to exclude the negroes from the ballot box on ac¬ 
count of their being negroes. 

There is a very substantial difference between the two things. 
The states still have the right to exclude any class or classes of per¬ 
sons they please from the elective franchise, as long as they do not 
make race or color the ground or test for exclusion. 

Again, in 1920, the Constitution of the United States was amended 
by the adoption of the nineteenth amendment, which reads as fol¬ 
lows: “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not 
be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state, on ac 
count of sex." 

Here again, it is to be noted that this amendment was not intend¬ 
ed to confer and did not confer the elective franchise on women, 
though it had practically that effect. 

The control over qualifications for the ballot still remains as it 
w r as under the fifteenth amendment, and as it was from the founda¬ 
tions of the government, entirely with the several States, each for 
itself and for its own people, with two exceptions. That is to say, 
the states are free to say who may vote in their several elections as 
long as they do not make distinctions depend upon race, color, or sex. 

This is well illustrated in the fact that, long before the nineteenth 
amendment was adopted, there were many states that permitted 
women to vote. After that amendment, no state could deny them 
right merely on the ground of their being women. 

The Georgia Constitution, in defining who might vote has always 
added the word “male" to the qualifications, and no change has ever 
been made in that respect. The effect of the nineteenth amendment, 
however, has been to nullify that provision, so that, although it still 
remains in the Georgia Constitution unchanged, it is a dead letter. 
As the qualifications of voters in this state are proscribed in the State 
Constitution, and for the entire state, they apply also in municipal 
elections, and the legislature of the state would have no power to ex 
elude any one from the ballot in a city, if qualified to vote in a state 



Studies in Citizenship foe Georgia Women 


21 


election, nor to allow any one to vote in a city who can not vote in a 
state election. But it has generally been assumed that the legislature 
may authorize, and a city require a supplemental registration for city 
voters. Their assumption has never been questioned and is probably 
sound, though it would not be consistent to admit to such a registra¬ 
tion persons who are not qualified to register for a state election, nor 
to exclude from it those who are so qualified. 

In this connection it may perhaps be prudent to explain that the 
state now has what is called a permanent registration list. This does 
not, however, admit those who are on it, to vote in a city election un¬ 
til they are again registered for that city election. 

Cities generally require new registrations annually or bi¬ 
ennially. They might also provide permanent registrations, though 
none of them has done so, as far as we are advised. It is impoortant 
to remember that registration as a voter in state elections does not 
dispense with the necessity for additional city regulations, though 
this could be done, and perhaps should be done. 

In addition to the qualifications for voting that have now been 
explained, it should be added that there are some express disquali¬ 
fications, For instance, there are some classes of persons who may 
possess the requisite qualifications and yet are excluded from regis¬ 
tering and voting. These are as follows: 

1. Those who have been convicted in a proper court of treason 
embezzlement of public funds, malfeasance in office, bribery, 
larceny, proof of any crime involving moral turpitude, 

2. Idiots and insane persons. 

Those disqualified for crime however, may be pardoned, and in 
such case their disqualification is removed. Just what offenses in¬ 
volve moral turpitude has never been fully defined. It is also pro¬ 
vided by the State Constitution that soldiers, sailors, and marines, 
in the military or naval service of the United States cannot acquire 
the right to vote merely by being stationed on duty in this state. 

This does not mean that they cannot acquire such right at all but 
only that their official presence here, though long continued, shall 
not, of itself, make them qualified electors. 



22 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


QUESTIONS 

1— Where is the power to determine the qualifications of voters 
vested? 

2— What are the four necessary qualifications for voters in Geor¬ 
gia? 

3— When did the state begin to require voters to register? Can 
you tell why? 

4— Name five classes under which voters may qualify. 

5— In what two cases has the federal government specifically 
limited the states in their power to determine voting qualifi¬ 
cations? 

6— What provision of the Georgia constitution did the Nineteenth 
Amendment nullify? 

7— ils it necessary to register every year? 

8— What are the express disqualifications for voting? 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


23 


Lesson IV, 

THE DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT. 

By Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Having now determined that a State is a society of which the citi¬ 
zens are members, we take up the question of what the society is 
organized for, and how it is to carry on its purposes. 

We have already seen that it declares its purpose to be : 

“To perpetuate the principles of free government, insure justice 
to all, preserve peace, promote the interest and happiness of the citi¬ 
zens, and transmit to posterity the enjoyment of liberty.” 

For the accomplishment of these purposes the citizens organize a 
government, the framework of which is outlined in the constitution 
and the details worked out in the laws. During the slow process of 
the centuries, human reason and experience have made it clear that 
in any government there are three separate and necessary functions: 

1. The power and authority to make its laws. 

2. The power or jurisdiction to interpret and construe the laws 
and determine their application to any particular set of facts. 

3. The power and duty to carry out or execute the laws and do 
the things which they commend, or prevent the things which they 
forbid. 

Reason and experience have also concurred in the judgment that 
the best results and the greatest measure of happiness and efficiency 
result from that form of government which most completely separates 
these functions. 

In a primitive tribe of savages, the chief combines all these func¬ 
tions, in his own office. He himself lays down such rules as he pleases, 
changes them when and where and as he pleases, construes his own 
rules, and carries them into effect. In such a government justice is, 
of course, impossible. No man can know what the law is or will be 
tomorrow; no man has any assurance of what the rules mean, or 
whether they will be properly or fairly administered. 

As we ascend the scale of civilization through the governments 
of Turkey under the Sultan, or Russia under the Czars, we find a 
sure, though an imperfect separation of these functions, and we al¬ 
ways find that justice, efficiency, enlightment and education tend to 



24 


Studies in Citizenship foe Georgia Women 


improve as the legislative, judicial and executive powers become mere 
complete and are entrusted to different officers or tribunals. 

The government of the United States does not, in express terms v 
require this separation, but it does entrust these powers each to its 
own particular set of officers.. 

The constitution of Georgia does the same thing, but it goes far¬ 
ther and provides as follows: 

“The legislative, judicial and executive powers shall forever re¬ 
main separate and distinct, and no person discharging the duties of 
the one shall, at the same time, exercise the functions of either of 
the others, except as herein provided/' 

Under these provisions of the constitution, it would be manifestly 
improper for the governor to hold a court, or the judges of the Su¬ 
preme Court to make laws. 

Nevertheless, there do come times and places where the separate 
powers approach so nearly to each other, where the line of demarca¬ 
tion between them is so vague and shadowy, that it is not easy to say 
with certainty to which department of government a particular func¬ 
tion belongs. 

Thus, if we take the duties of the Railroad Commission, or the 
Public Service Commission as it is now called, it is by no means 
easy to say with certainty to which department of government it 
belongs. 

It is generally conceded that the commission itself belongs to the 
executive branch of government and certainly it has some duties that 
are purely executive. It collects statistics and publishes informa¬ 
tion, and does many other acts that are undoubtedly in execution of 
law. On the other hand, it decrees and makes orders that a railroad 
may charge certain rates or shall build a depot at a certain place. 
It is not easy to explain why this is not an exercise of the power to 
make laws, though the courts have always said that it is not. Again 
it hears many controversies and decides them, and the courts have 
agreed that in none of these are they exercising judicial functions. 

Still it must be admitted that the reasoning on this subject is far 
from satisfactory, and there are many people who feel that the con¬ 
clusions reached on these subjects are sustained by public opinion, 
more from the fact that it is regarded as necessary, than because the 
laws under which the commission exists are really consistent with the 
provision above quoted from the constitution. 

The power to create a corporation is generally conceded to be an 
exercise of legislative authority and yet most corporations are created 






Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 25 


by the courts. But this is expressly authorized by the constitution 
itself, and therefore comes within the exceptions contained in the 
words “except as herein provided/’ So there are other cases in the 
law where particular officers have been authorized by acts of the 
Legislature to do things which seem to the average mind to violate 
the provision above quoted from the constitution, and some of these 
are not yet fully decided by the courts. Others, it must be admitttd, 
are not easy to classify. 

All the authorities are agreed that the separation of the different 
functions can not be made absolutely clear and sharply defined, but 
it is fairly well carried out, and that there are not many cases in 
Georgia, in which an officer of one department exercises functions 
properly belonging to another. 

Speaking in general terms, the first class of powers above men¬ 
tioned are committed by the Constitution of Georgia to the Legisla¬ 
ture. 

In a subsequent article we will explain the powers of the Legis¬ 
lature, how it is composed, and how the members are selected, and in 
like manner how the second group of powers enumerated are com¬ 
mitted to the courts. Later on we will explain about these, what their 
powers are, how they operate, and how the judges are chosen. 

The third group of powers is committed to the executive depart¬ 
ment. Generally this would mean the Governor. However, the Gov¬ 
ernor in Georgia is not by any means the executive department, nor 
even the chief executive, as he is sometimes called. 


QUESTIONS 

1— Define the three separate functions of any government. 

2— How does the United States provide for this separation of 
powers? Give Instances to show how these powers may over¬ 
lap. 

3 — How does the question of the creation of corporations com¬ 
plicate matters? 

4 _When there is a question of indeterminate jurisdiction, who 

decides? 

5 _What is the situation in Georgia with regard to the separation 

of the functions of government? 



26 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Lesson V. 

THE LEGISLATURE. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

The State, being a mere society of individuals organized for cer¬ 
tain declared purposes, exercises, as we have shown, three principal 
groups or classes of powers, the first of which is the power to make 
rules or laws. This power is called the legislative power. But how 
does it do this? 

If there were only fifty or a hundred people in such a society, 
these might meet together themselves and make the laws. But of 
course, this is impossible in so large a society, and recourse is there¬ 
fore, had to a system of choosing a few out of the whole for that 
purpose, just as the stockholders in a bank select a board of directors. 

In the first section of the third article of the Constitution of the 
State we find the following: 

“The Legislative powers of the State shall be vested in a General 
Assembly, which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Represen¬ 
tatives/’ 

Let us analyze this. The legislative power, properly belongs to, 
and inheres in the whole mass of citizens. But by this provision in the 
constitution they have delegated it to another organization called a 
“General Assembly,” which is nothing more than the body we gen¬ 
erally call the Legislature. Originally the power was “inherent” in 
the people. But is now “vested” in the Legislature, as agents for 
the people. 

But what is this General Assembly to which such extensive and 
important powers are thus delegated? The Constitution already 
tells us that it is composed of a Senate and a House of Representa¬ 
tives. But who and what are they? Turning again to the Consti¬ 
tution, we read in the sgc^nd section of the third articl^^hat the 
Senate consists of fifty-tv?«■ members chosen from fif£y-Wo districts, 
each district havings one Senator. r 

There are 166 counties in the state and these have b^en grouped 
together, three or four counties to a district, into 63-^groups, each 
of which is called a senatorial district. The first district lies near 
and around Savannah, and includes the counties of Chatham, Bryan, 
and Effingham. The people of this district are entitled to elect one 
senator to represent them. In like manner the counties of Rich¬ 
mond, Glascock, and Jefferson form the eighteenth district. Most 
of the districts contain three counties, but the twenty-second dis- 



Studies in Citizenship fob Georgia Women 


27 


trict includes the counties of Bibb, Monroe, Pike, and Lamar. The 
thirty-fifth district includes, Fulton, Clayton, and Henry. 

'here are jL-fif) counties in the State and these vary widely in 
population, Fulton County having approximately a quarter of a 
million people, while Echols and Treutlen have barely more than 
three thousand each. The constitution of the state provides that the 
eight counties having the largest populations may each send three 
representatives to the House; the thirty next largest, two each; and 
the rest one each. 


This is a recognition in principle that the counties should be 
represented in proportion to population, but it must be admitted 
that it is a very poor application of the principle. Fulton County has 
more than seventy times the population of Echols, but only three 
times as much representation. So again, Fulton has exactly the same 
number of representatives as DeKalb, though it has more than five 
times the population. 


Under the rule referred to, the House of Representatives consists 
^Kof^b2^m embers, of whom eight counties furnish 24 members, thirty 
'SL°/ counties furnish 60 members and the remaining 128 counties furnish 

.£$8' members. The General Assembly, then is composed of 264"^ <X ^ 
representatives who are authorized to exercise the legislative powers 
of the people, and, by authority and permission of the people. 


The next question is, how are they selected—In Great Britain the 
members of one house of the legislature are elected, those in the 
other holding by hereditary succession. We might in Georgia, have 
made the same provision if we had so desired. We might have made 
seats in, both houses hereditary. We might have provided that they 
should be chosen by lot, or that they might be appointed by the 
Governor. We have however, provided in our Constitution in Geor¬ 
gia, that the members of both houses shall be chosen by ballot, the 
senators by the qualified voters of their respective districts and the 
representatives by those of their counties, and for stated terms of 
two years. This is representative government. Thus, every two 
tyears the people of Fulton, Clayton, and Henry counties elect a 
Senator to represent the thirty-fifth district. Each of the counties 
choose their representatives in the House, in the same way and for 
the same term, eight of the counties electing three representatives 
each, thirty of them electing two rep resentatives each, and the re- 
maining counties, one each. The 2men thus chosen compose the X 
House of Representatives, or “The House/’ as it is commonly called, 
for the next term. 

These elections occur in November of each even year, but the 
members do not take office until the following June. For instance, 
the members of the present legislature were elected in November 
1922, but did not become members until June 1923. Their suc- 


/ 





28 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


cessors, will be elected at the general election in November 1924, and 
will take their seats in June 1925. 

The members of each house must each take an oath to support 
the Constitution of this state and of the United States, and that, on 
all questions coming before him, he will so conduct himself as will, 
in his judgment, be most conducive to the interest and prosperity of 
the State. The Legislature meets every year, and no session may 
continue for more than 50 days. In case of emergency, however, 
the Governor may call them together for an extra session, and there 
is no limit of time set for such a session. 

Certain classes of persons are disqualified to be members of the 
legislature. Thus, no military officer may sit in this assembly and no 
civil officer to whose office there is any compensation attached, ex¬ 
cept Justices of the Peace and officers of the militia. No person can 
be a member who is in arrears for his taxes, nor any defaulter in 
respect of public funds. 

In like manner no member who has once been sworn in can be 
elected by the Legislature or appointed by the Governor to any of¬ 
fice to which any compensation accrues until his successor has been 
sworn in. 

If any member removes his residence from the district or county 
for which he was elected, his seat is automaticcally vacated. Every 
Senator must be at least twenty-five years old and a citizen of the 
United States. He must, also, have been a citizen of this state for 
four years, and a resident for one year in the district for which he 
is elected. 

A member of the House must be a citizen of the United States, 
at least twenty years old, and must have been for two years a citizen 
of Georgia, and a resident for one year in the county for which he is 
elected. Sometimes there arises a contest as to who was elected. In 
such cases it is a fundamental principle with us that each house is 
the safe and final judge of the election returns and qualifications of 
its members. Neither the Courts nor the Governor can meddle with 
that question in any way. 

Members of the General Assembly are privileged from arrest 
while going to or returning from a session of the Legislature, and 
while in attendance at the Copitol for that purpose, except for 
treason, felony, or breach of the peace. For words spoken by him 
in debate he is also privileged, and he can never be held to answer 
for these before any other tribunal. 

When the newly elected members meet for the first time and are 
sworn in, each house proceeds to elect one of its own members to 
preside over its deliberations, the presiding officer of the House being 
called the Speaker, and that of the Senate being called the President. 
They elect ceitain other sub-ordinate officers also, a recording officer, 



Studies in Citizenship foe Georgia Women 


29 


called the Clerk in the House and Secretary in the Senate; also a Mes¬ 
senger, a Doorkeeper, and a Sergeant-at-arms. None of these are 
members. The Presiding officer of each House can appoint a certain 
number of Pages, and it is usual for the Speaker of the House to ap¬ 
point a Postmaster to take charge of the mail for the members. 

As soon as either house completes its organization it sends a 
message to the other house, so informing, and notifying it of who is 
the Clerk or Secretary, as the case may be. The other House, upon 
the completion of its organization, sends a similar message. 

When the whole Assembly is thus organized, a joint resolution is 
proposed in one of the houses and agreed to by the other, for the 
appointment of a committee to notify the Governor of that fact. 
This resolution sometimes originates in one house and sometimes in 
the other. The committee is usually composed of three members 
from the House appointed by the Speaker, and two from the Senate 
appointed by the President. 

A formal message is sent by each House to the other, advising who 
its committeemen are. The committee thus formed then makes a 
formal and official call on the Governor and informs him that the 
General Assembly of the people’s representatives is organized and 
ready to receive any communication he may desire to make. The 
committee should also inform the Governor officially who the officers 
are. 

To their communication the Governor usually replies that he will 
in a few days, send a communication in writing to the Assembly 
touching the state of the public business. In recent years the Gov¬ 
ernor has sometimes replied that he will be pleased to appear per¬ 
sonally before a joint session of the Assembly and address them on 
the subject of the state’s affairs. 

Each branch of the Committe then appears before its own house 
and reports the Governor’s answer. In case the Governor er- 
presses a desire to appear personally, the two houses, by appropriate 
resolution make arrangements for the joint session. 

The methods for attending to their business each house de¬ 
termines generally for itself by adopting a body of rules. There are 
a few rules prescribed by the constitution for their purpose, and these 
are, of course, controlling, in the main, however, each house makes 
its own rules of procedure. These generally follow customary par- 
limentary usage, but there are many changes in detail, and the rules 
of the two houses differ considerably. 

The nature of the business to be transacted and the method pur¬ 
sued for that purpose will be reserved for a future article. 




80 


Studies in Citizenship foe Geoegia Women 


QUESTIONS 

1— Why is a legislature or general assembly necessary, and what 
are its powers? 

2— What are the divisions of the general assembly? Name the 
counties in your senatorial district. It the House of Repre¬ 
sentatives the same as the Senate? State difference. 

3— How are senators and representatives chosen? When? Du¬ 
ties and privileges of the legislators. 

4— Are all citizens eligible 

5— What are the officers? How chosen? 

6— Name the duties of the governor. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


31 


Lesson VI. 

THE LIMITED POWERS OF THE GOVERNOR. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

In providing an executive system for Georgia the Constitution 
makers have departed radically from what may be called the normal 
governmental policy, though it must be observed that the same tend¬ 
ency manifests itself, more or less, in all the American states. The 
normal policy proceeds on the theory that the concentration of the 
executive authority in a single chief executive tends to efficiency in 
government. The United States government follows this policy. 
The theory that the state of Georgia seems to rest on the apprehen¬ 
sion that it is dangerous to concentrate executive authority, and this 
feeling frequently finds expression in the popular formula about “one 
man power.” 

The grievances of the American colonies against the mother 
country which brought on the revolution, arose almost entirely from 
executive encroachments on popular rights. It was an inevitable 
consequence that there should arise in the public mind an intense 
jealousy against executive authority, and usually inevitable that 
this feeling should be reflected in limitations imposed by the state 
constitution on the executive departments created by them. 

To a limited extent the same tendency was manifested in the 
national Constitution. Thus, by that instrument, the power to de¬ 
clare war was withdrawn from the executive and vested in the legis¬ 
lature. So while the President was still permitted to approve all ex¬ 
ecutive officers and remove them at his pleasure, all principal ap¬ 
pointments were required to be made subject to the advice and con¬ 
sent of the Senate. In like manner, while the conduct of foreign re¬ 
lations was left to the President, the senate was given a veto power 
on treaties. From the beginning the state government Georgia has 
always jealously limited the power of her governor, and the present 
constitution goes to such an extreme in that particular as to have 
reduced her governor to a position little more than that of a chief 
clerk. 

The motive leading to this result was, of course, a desire to safe¬ 
guard the liberties of the people against the possibility of executive 
tyranny. The policy has naturally resulted in a loss of efficiency. 
Whether the policy has really tended to compensate this difficulty by 
ah increased liberty to the individual, or to protect the mases against 
oppression, is a question that admits of debate. This article expresses 
no opinion on the subject. It is worth consideration, however, to re¬ 
member that executive power may be exercised in defense of public 



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Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


rights and liberties against feudal aggression, as well as for unjust 
ends, and that, if the executive is stripped of the power to oppress, it 
is also at the same time deprived of the power to defend. So far as 
concerns its dignity, the Constitution of Georgia has practically with¬ 
drawn from the Governor’s office all authority, and the provisions 
which were adapted to prevent the governor from doing wrong or 
acting unwisely have been equally potent to prevent his acting wisely 
or doing right. He is a mere cipher, and in general can no more re¬ 
strain wrong doers from doing wrong than he can oppress the right¬ 
eous or interfere with those who desire to do right. 

The normal theory of government has always vested executive 
power in some one chief executive. In the American states this 
officer is called a Governor. Under the policy of the central govern¬ 
ment, and in the South American Republics, he is called President. 
Among the European States he is generally called the King, though 
in France and Switzerland he is called President. It should be borne 
in mind that in Great Britain the King has practically no executive 
power at all except in name. In that government the entire execu¬ 
tive power is vested in a body called the Cabinet, which is, in reality, 
a mere parliamentary committee. 

Normally, the power and duty to execute the laws is vested in 
the Chief executive, whatever be the title given, and all executive 
officers are appointed by him, responsible to him, and removable at 
his pleasure. 

Under such a system the chief executive has great power, both 
for good and evil. This power, however, is compensated for by 
equally great responsibility, and, if the power is abused, or the duty 
neglected, or inefficiently discharged, the people know where 
the responsibility rests. If any officer is corrupt or inefficient the 
chief executive is responsible. The utterances of the Georgia Con¬ 
stitution pertinent to this matter seem to spring from a spirit of 
grim irony. Starting out with the assertion that “The executive 
power shall be vested in a Governor/’' it immediately proceeds to 
carve up the executive power into a multitude of fragments and vest 
them elsewhere in a legion of officers whom the governor can neither 
appoint nor remove, and over whom he has praetiraily no control. 
The Constitution next proceeds to declare that “He shall take care 
that all laws are faithfully executed,” and then carefully withholds 
from all power to perform the task thus imposed. 

By the terms of our constitution the chief executive is to be called 
the Governor. He is elected in November of each alternate year by 
popular vote, for a term of two years. He must be at least thirty 
years old and must have been a citizen of the United States for at 
least fifteen years and of the state for six. The returns of the elec¬ 
tion are made to the legislature which convenes in June following 
the election. That body canvasses the returns and declares the result. 



Studies in Citizenship fob Georgia Women 


38 


and the new Governor is then inaugurated in the presence of the leg¬ 
islature. He takes an oath which is prescribed by law, and adminis¬ 
tered generally by one of the judges of the Supreme Court. It is 
customary for the new governor to deliver an address to the legis¬ 
lature at the time of his inauguration, though this is not required. 

A governor may be re-elected for a second term, after that he 
is not eligible for re-election until four years have elapsed. He is al¬ 
lowed a salary of seven thousand five hundred dollars ($7,500) a 
year and is furnished an official residence. By statute also, and by 
custom, he is furnished certain other services at the expense of the 
state. His salary can not be increased or diminished during his 
term, and no change can be made in the amount of it except by a 
vote of two-thirds of both houses of the legislature. In case of his 
death, resignation, or disability, the President of the Senate may ex¬ 
ercise his powers, until a successor is elected or the disability re¬ 
moved. 

The powers of the Governor, as prescribed by the Constitution 
are as follows: 

1. He is commander-in-chief of the army and navy of the state 
and of the militia. As the Constitution of the United States pro¬ 
hibits any state from keeping troups or ships of war in time of peace, 
except by consent of Congress, and, as the States do not generally 
desire, in time of war, to maintain separate forces, the first part of 
this provision is of no practical importance. The State does, however, 
maintain a limited form of organization for its militia, and the 
governor generally appoints an adjutant, as well as a highly orna¬ 
mental staff of colonels. The adjutant-general is the only salaried 
officer. The Governor may call out the volunteer militia whenever 
the processes of the courts are so resisted as to make such course 
necessary; and may, in time of invasion or insurrection, call out not 
only the volunteer militia but all the potential militia as well, but 
only until the legislature meets. In cases where the militia is called 
out in aid of the civil authorities, he may proclaim that a state of in¬ 
surrection exists in a particular section and declare martial law in 
force in that section. In such case, the commanding officer may, by 
the governor’s authority exercise extensive and summary powers. 
These powers to call out the troops must be exercised by the gover¬ 
nor when he is informed by certain named officers that the conditions 
exist which justify it. 

2. The governor may grant pardons and reprieves to persons con¬ 
victed of crime, and may commute sentences imposed by the courts, 
except in cases of treason or impeachment. It is required, however, 
that at each session of the legislature he make a report to that body 
of all cases in which he has exercised this power, and give his rea¬ 
sons. This is a well intended provision, though, so far aa appears, it 
has never had any practical effect. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


34 


3. In cases of vacancies arising in the representation of any 
county or district in the legislature, the governor must call a special 
election in such county or district to fill the vacancy. By statute he 
has a similar duty and authority in cases of vacancies arising in the 
representation of the state in Congress. 

4. If vacancies happen in any executive or judicial office in 
the state, he may fill the vacancy by a temporary appointment, to 
hold until the next general election, when the vacancy is filled by 
the people. 

5. He is authorized to give the legislature information from time 
to time as to the state of the public business. It has been customary 
•heretofore to do this in the form of an annual message in writing. 
At present, there is a tendency to adopt the plans of making this com¬ 
munication in an oral address. Special matters are communicated 
in shorter special mesages, and these also are now sometimes de¬ 
livered orally. The governor may also recommend to the legislature 
the consideration of such laws as he deems it expedient to be passed. 
These recommendations the legislature may or may not accept. 

6. Whenever the Governor thinks it necessary to do so, he may 
call a special session of the legislature to consider particular mat¬ 
ters. In all such cases the subjects to be considered are set out in 
the call, and the special session can deal with no other matters. 

7. Whenever a law is enacted by the legislature, the Governor 
must sign it before it becomes law, but if he neglects to do so for five 
days after it is sent to him, it becomes a law anyhow. If, however, 
he disapproves the law, he may return it to the legislature with a 
statement to that effect, and give his reasons therefor. In that 
case it is not law, unless the legislature proceeds to reconsider it. 
If, after such reconsideration, it is passed again by two-thirds of 
both houses, it becomes a law notwithstanding the governor’s veto. 

8. He is authorized to require information in writing from the 
officers of the executive departments as to their respective offices, 
and must, four times a year, examine the treasurer and comptroller- 
general on oath as to the condition of their offices, and inspect and 
review their work. No special provision is made as to the enforce¬ 
ment of their duty and power, and no provision is made for paying 
the expense of it. In small or slight examinations, the governor 
could no doubt meet this expense by drawing on his contingent fund, 
but it is doubtful whether this would be adequate for any exhaustive 
audit of the books. 

9. The governor may appoint his own secretaries, not more than 
two in number, and may provide such clerical help as he needs in his 
office, but the total expense on these accounts must not exceed $10 ,t 
000 a year. To this limitation there was recently added the caution 
that this sum shall not be exceeded, directly or indirectly, for any 
services rendered to the governor in the way of clerical assistance, 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


35 


or in any other manner. Just what real or supposed abuse this cau¬ 
tion was intended to check is not apparent. 

These are all the powers conferred on the governor by the Con¬ 
stitution. There are certain other powers inherent in the office as a 
matter of ancient customs which do not appear to have been with¬ 
drawn from it by the Constitution. For instance, he has the right to 
invoke the judgement of the courts against any corporation, or any 
holder of a franchise, when he perceives that it has abused its privi¬ 
leges or failed to exercise them, and ask that the charter or other 
franchise be forfeited. The executive power in such case intends 
only to set the law in motion. The forfeiture can only be adjudged 
by the courts. A recent statute has undertaken to withdraw a large 
part of this power from the governor and confer it on the Superin¬ 
tendent of Banks. It may be questioned whether this is a valid law. 

Then, there are a multitude of duties imposed upon the governor 
by statute that are largely matters of clerical detail, such as signing 
warrants on the treasury, assigning the rooms in the Capitol to the 
different offices, issuing land grants, employing lawyers to defend 
suits, or to institute them, as the case may be. These are wholly un¬ 
important in considering the nature of his office, mere matters of 
clerical or ministerial detail that could with equal propriety be as¬ 
signed to some other officer. 

It is frequently complained that we do not adequately enforce 
our laws in Georgia. Much of the blame for this condition is due to 
neglect of duty by executive officers. If the governor had power to 
remove officers who are guilty of such neglect, he could be justly held 
responsible for the failure to enforce the law. The president of the 
United States has such a power over federal officers. As a conse¬ 
quence the laws of the United States are much better respected and 
obeyed. 

In Georgia we prefer to withhold this power from the Governor. 
We have the right to prefer such a policy, but we must endure the 
consequences. 

QUESTIONS 

1 —How does the Georgia conception of the executive power 
differ from the normal policy? What is the underlying 
cause of this? 

2_How is this tendency reflected in the national constitution? 

What has been its effect on the chief executive's office? 

3— Explain the relationship between power and responsibility 
as applied to the executive of any government. To the ex¬ 
ecutive of Georgia. 

4 — How and when is the governor elected and what are the re¬ 
quirements for the office? Discuss re-election and salary. 



36 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


5— What is the governor’s relation to the state militia? Is his 
power in this respect limited? 

6— In what cases is the governor prohibited from granting par¬ 
dons and reprieves? 

7— —How are vacancies in the legislature and the state’s repre¬ 

sentation in Congress filled? Vacancies in the executive and 
judicial offices of the state? 

8— What is the purpose of the governor’s annual message to the 
legislature and how is it delivered? 

9— How is a special session of the legislature summoned and 
what may it discuss? 

10— In what two ways may a bill passed by the legislature become 
a law without the governor’s signature? 

11— How does the governor keep in touch with officers of execu¬ 
tive departments? With the treasurer and comptroller-gen¬ 
eral? 

12— What are some of the governor’s rights and duties inherent 
m the office as a matter of custom? 


i 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


1 


Lesson VII. 

THE EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

THE SECRETARY. 

This officer is named by the Const'tut'on as one of the ch : ef ex¬ 
ecutive officers. Formerly his duties, as preserved by the construc¬ 
tion or inherent in his office, were quite limited, being restricted to 
the keeping of the public records and the Great Seal, certifying 
public documents and a few minor details. 

He is elected by the people at the same time as the governor, and 
he returns of his election are made to and declared by the leg¬ 
islature. His salary is fixed by the constitution at $2,000 per annum. 
This was done in 1877 when the governor’s salary was $3,000. The 
amount was, however, increased about 1906 by the device of giving 
him certain new duties to discharge in regard to corporations and 
creating the new office of commissioner of corporations, which office 
is held ex-officio by the secretary with a salary in that capacity of 
$1,200 a year. 

In 1915 he was also given a new title as commissioner of motor 
vehicles and allowed a new salary in that capacity of $1,800 a year. 

This makes the present salary of the secretary $5,000. 

To be secretary of state one must be not less than twenty-five 
years of age, must have been for ten years a citizen of the United 
States, and for six years a citizen of Georgia. Theoretically he grants 
all charters of incorporation to banks, railroad companies, express 
and telegraph companies. In reality his duties in these matters are 
purely ministerial. The legislature, in actual practice, provides a 
system under which any group of persons may be incorporated for 
these purposes upon complying with certain conditions. The secretary 
merely sees to it that the conditions named in the law are complied 
with, and, if that is done, the secretary has no discretion but to sign 
their certificates of incorporation. The constitution allows the secre* 
tary, as such, only $1,000 a year for clerical expenses. 

THE COMPTROLLER GENERAL. 

This officer is one of the most important in the state. He must 
keep a record of all appropriations made by law, and the treasurer 
can not pay any warrant drawn by the governor until it is counter¬ 
signed by the comptroller general. One of the objects of this is to 
prevent the overdrawing of appropriations. He supervises and con¬ 
trols all the tax officers and they must all report to him, and he 
publishes each year and submits to the legislature an estimate of the 
revenues and disbursmnts for th succeeding two years and an account 
of those for the past two. All holders of public franchises, such as 
railroads, street car systems, telephone and telegraph companies and 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


ns 


power companies make their returns to him instead of to the taxing 
officers of the several counties, and he has extensive powers in the 
matter of revising their valuations and enforcing payment of the 
taxes. 

His qualifications and the method of his election are similar in 
all respects to those of the secretary of state. Comparative esti¬ 
mates are not easy to make as to the relative extent of his powers 
and their importance as compared with the governor’s, but it may 
well be doubted if his authority is not really more extensive and 
important than that of the chief executive himself. 

His salary remains at $2,000 as originally fixed by the constitu¬ 
tion, but in 1912 he was given an additional salary of $3,000 as in¬ 
surance commissioner. 

THE TREASURER. 

The qualifications and election of the treasurer are the same as 
those of the secretary of state and the comptroller general, and his 
duties are, at the present time, confined to the keeping of the public 
moneys and their disbursemnt upon the warrant of the governor, 
countersigned by the comptroller general. His salary was originally 
fixed at $2,000 a year with an allowance of $1,600 for clerical help. 
Some years back he was allowed an assistant, his salary was increas¬ 
ed to $4,800, his assistant’s was fixed at $3,600 and he was allowed 
$6,000 for clerical aid At the same time it was provided that the 
state should pay the premium on the bond he was required to give 
for the faithful keeping of the public funds. 

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

By the constitution this officer is treated as a part of the judi¬ 
cial department, but his functions are purely executive and he is here 
treated as belonging to that department. He must be at least 30 
years old and must have practiced law seven years and have been a 
citizen of the state for three years. He is elected by the people 
at the same time, for the same term and in the same manner as 
the governor. There is, however, an important difference in the 
manner in which the returns are made and declared. His salary 
at preesent is $5,000 a year. 

STATUTORY OFFICERS. 

The executive officers and departments thus far considered are 
provided for by the constitution. They were manifestly intended 
to be the only principal departments of government. From time to 
time, however, the legislature has, in effect, created others, some of 
them of equal dignity and authority. The method of so doing may 
well invite attention and an inquiry as to the legislative power in 
the premises. 

As to two of these, the state superintendent of schools and the 
commissioner of agriculture, there are some traces of authority for 
them in the constitution. In the main, however, they are purely th 




Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


39 


creation of statute. The powers of both are extensive, but it would 
be impossible to fully consider either in an article of the length of 
this. Each could be made the subject of a separate lesson, and there 
are many reasons why each should be seriously considered by the 
public, particularly the department of agriculture. 

Among other officers who are armed with extensive and far- 
reaching powers are the superintendent of banks, the insurance com¬ 
missioner and his fire inspector, the commissioner of labor, the com¬ 
missioner of corporations, the state game warden and numerous 
boards and commissions that it would require a volume to catalogue. 
It is not the part of this article to comment on the policies that un¬ 
derlie these or any other departments or officers. We are here only 
telling in a general way what these departments are and trying to 
give some idea as to their duties and powers. Expressions of opin¬ 
ion as to the wisdom or unwisdom of their creation are for other 
occasions. 

It may not, however, be out of place to remark that the creation 
of new offices has proceeded very rapidly during the past twenty 
years, and the tendency has been increasingly evident to enlarge 
their several authorities and correspondingly reduce the power and 
authority of the governor. The resultant increase of governmental 
expense and taxes has been considerable. These subjects are all 
worthy of earnest consideration. If there were any possible medi¬ 
um through which the facts of these matters could be brought to the 
knowledge of the people generally, it is quite probable that much 
difference of opinion would be found to exist. There is, however, 
no such medium. 

Of minor officers connected with the executive department there 
is an illimitable host. It would be impossible to describe them all. 

QUESTIONS 

1 _Formerly what were the chief duties of the secretary of state? 

2 _How is he elected and what is his salary? Who is he at the 

present time? 

3 _What other duties have been added in recent years? 

4__What are the duties of the comptroller general and what is 

his salary? Who is he at present time? 

5 _What are the duties of the treasurer? His salary? Who 

must countersign all warrants paid by him? 

5 _Who pays the premium on the bond required for his faithful 

keeping of the public funds? 

7 _Who is the attorney general? To what department is he sup¬ 
posed to belong? . , . , 

8—What is his salary? What is important difference m which 

the returns are made? 

9^_Mention other officers of the executive department, created 
by the legislature. 




i 


Sti r s in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Lesson VIIL 

THE JUDICIARY. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

It has already been explained that the normal functions of gov¬ 
ernment divide themselves naturally into three groups, the legisla¬ 
tive, executive, and judicial; and it has been further observed that, 
as governments become civilized and the people more devoted to the 
principles of l'berty, the separation of these departments becomes 
more sharply defined. 

The judicial authority is that department of government which 
hears and determines controversies between individuals, or between 
individuals and the public. Such controversies necessarily involve 
two kinds of questions: What are the facts, and what- is the law 
applicable to those facts? The determination of what is the law 
necessarily involves a determination of what the law means, for no 
human wisdom has ever yet been equal to the task of writing a law 
so plainly that no dispute can arise as to its meaning. 

The tribunals created by law for discharging these duties are 
generally called courts, and the chief officer of a court is called a 
judge. We have many courts in Georgia and several classes of 
courts, the powers, duties, and authority of each and all being de¬ 
fined by law. The power and authority of a court to hear and de¬ 
termine is generally called its jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the 
different courts differ widely. 

The whole business and evolution of Government is better illus¬ 
trated in the last four books of the Pentatuch and the book of 
Joshua than any other recorded history of like extent, and it is 
peculiarly interesting in its record about the divisions of courts. 
Moses was a wonderfult Statesman, and the reason of the Exodus and 
of the proceeding fifty years, is the history of how a great man took 
hold of a people already numerous enough to be a nation, and by 
sheer force of will and genius, hammered them into a government. 

Moses, at first, combined in himself all the legislative, executive 
and judicial authority, as well as being a military leader. Among a 
turbulent and undisciplined mob, and surrounded by enemies, he 
still found it necessary to settle the human controversies that even 
then arose, and he found time to do it. Shortly after the journey 
started, his father-in-law, Jethro, came out from Midian and paid 
him a visit in the camp. Jethro was a wise man, and, after watching 
Moses for a day or two and taking note of his problems, he gave him 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


41 


some good advice. The story is told in the eighteenth chapter of the 
book of Exodus and the advice given is in verses 13 to 26 inclusive. 
I recommend you to read it. Our judicial system in Georgia is based 
upon the same principle. 

Courts are divided into two groups, courts of original jurisdiction 
and appellate courts. Courts of original jurisdiction are those in 
which a case begins and it may finally terminate there. Courts of 
appellate jurisdiction are those which do not try the case themselves, 
but review the trial below and decide whether any error was com¬ 
mitted. 

The most important court in Georgia is the superior court. Courts 
of like grade in other states are sometimes called circuit courts. 
The corresponding court of the United States is called the district 
court. There is one superior court in every county in Georgia. In 
many of the counties the superior court is able to attend to all its 
business in the county with two weeks work a year—in consequence it 
generally holds two sessions of one week each at intervals six months 
apart. For this reason a judge .of the superior court is able to pre¬ 
side in more than one county. The counties are, therefore, grouped 
into circuits, and the judge for a circuit goes from one county to 
another. Thus, the judge of the Stone Mountain Circuit sits in Camp¬ 
bell county, dividing first and second weeks in February and August, 
in Clayton county during the third weeks of February, May, August 
and November; in DeKalb during the first weeks of March, June, 
September and December, and in Newton and Rockdale counties 
during certain designated weeks. 

There are, at present, thirty-three circuits, varying in size. The 
Eastern and Atlanta circuits contain only one county each, while the 
Northeastern Circuit has nine counties. In the Atlanta Circuit it has 
been found necessary to have five judges, and these hold separate 
divisions of the same court. When the present Constitution was 
adopted in 1877 there were only about twenty-two circuits, but the 
number has been gradually increased from time to time. When the 
present legislature convened there were thirty-one circuits, but that 
body divided the Flint Circuit, which had eight counties, and the 
Western circuit which had seven, and so increased the number to 
thirty- three, and made it necessary to have two more judges. 

The jurisdiction of the superior court is practically unlimited. It 
can deal with any kind of a case, though generally small matters 
originate in certain superior tribunals called justice courts, and cer¬ 
tain classes of cases connected with the administration of estates 
and like matter go to what is called the court of Ordinary. These 
matters can be handled however by the superior courts, which are 
courts of general jurisdiction. In fact, there is no limit upon them 
as to the amount involved, and practically none as to subject. 

The judges of the superior court are elected by the people of the 



42 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


whole state and their salaries are paid by the state. In cases of va¬ 
cancies the Governor can appoint a judge to fill the vacancy until 
the next election. Their salaries can not be either increased or 
diminished during the terms for which they are elected or appointed. 

The next most general class of courts to deal with are the Justice 
court. Every county is divided up into smaller districts—in some 
States these are called parishes, in others, beats, or precincts, or 
townships. In Georgia they are called Militia Districts. Theoreti¬ 
cally there should be a hundred able-bodied male citizens, or a cap¬ 
tain’s company in each district, though there are a few that have 
many more. This practice originated in the idea that the state 
should be organized on a military basis. 

In each militia district there is a Justice of the Peace elected by 
the people of the district. There is also in each district one notary 
public appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of the 
Grand Jury of the county who is ex officio, a justice of the peace. 
In most districts these two justices of the peace sit together and 
hold a court once a month. In the same district they hold their courts 
separately and at separate times and places. 

The Justices of the Peace have a limited jurisdiction in criminal 
matters. They can issue peace warrants, search warrants, and war¬ 
rants of arrest. When a person is arrested on a warrant and charged 
with a crime, a Justice of the Peace can hold a preliminary trial of 
the case for the sole purpose of determining whether there is enough 
evidence or ground of suspicion to justify the officers in holding the 
accused under arrest until he can be indicted and tried. If he so 
finds, he can send the accused to await his real trial in the superior 
court, or in some other court where a jury can be impaneled. He 
must however, in such an event, allow the accused to give bond for 
his appearance and be set at liberty on bail. The amount of the bond 
is fixed by the Justice of the Peace, but it should be reasonable in 
amount. 

The Justices of the Peace also have jurisdiction in civil contro¬ 
versies where the amount involved is not over $100, (one hundred 
dollars) and in some cases they can call in a jury. From their de¬ 
cision an appeal can be taken to the superior court. 

There are about 3000 o r3500 justices in Georgia. They are not 
paid any salary, but are allowed fees in all cases according to a scale 
fixed by law. The fees generally fall on the losing party. 

Besides the Justice of the Peace there is in each county an of- 
Icer called the Ordinary. He holds a court called the Court of Or¬ 
dinary, and has jurisdiction to determine all matters concerning the 
proof of wills, the administration of estates, matters of guardian¬ 
ship, lunacy and some other like subjects. The Ordinary succeeds 
to the functions of the Bishop in England, who was legally known as 
Ordinary to distinguish him from the Archbishop who was called the 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


43 


Metropolitan. The Court of Ordinary is called in other states by 
other titles; in some it is called the Surrogates Court, and, in others, 
the court of probate. The ordinary is elected by the people of the 
county. He draws no salary, but is paid by fees and these fees are 
a heavy burden on the estates of people of moderate means. The 
superior courts also have jurisdiction in the matters referred to the 
court of ordinary, concurrent with that officer, but they exercise it 
only in unusual circumstances. 

The three courts, the superior court, the justice's courts, and the 
courts of ordinary are the only normal courts of original jurisdiction, 
but there are many other courts of original jurisdiction varying very 
much in their nature and jurisdiction. The legislature is expressly 
authorized by the Constitution to create any courts it may see fit, and, 
under this authority it has created a great number of special courts 
for different localities, by separate laws. Each one of these differs 
largely from every other, and reference must be made to the statutes 
under which they are created to determine their powers. 

Thus in Fulton county, there is a court called the city court of At 
lanta. For all practical purposes it is merely a branch of the superior 
court of Fulton county, except that it has no jurisdiction over serious 
crimes, nor matters of divorce, or equity cases, or suits involving the 
title to land. So far as amount is concerned, its jurisdiction is un¬ 
limited. 

Then again there is another court in Fulton County called the 
Criminal Court of Atlanta. It has jurisdiction over the less important 
grades of crimes. There are City Courts in many counties but all of 
them are created by special acts of the Legislature. In 1922 there 
was a city court established in Decatur known as the City Court of 
DeKalb County. The intention of these courts, generally, is to re¬ 
lieve the pressure of work on the superior courts. 

In a few counties in Georgia there are a series of new courts call¬ 
ed Municipal Courts, that take the place of Justice’s Courts, but 
with much larger jurisdiction. It required a Constitutional amend¬ 
ment to establish these courts because their establishment involved 
the abolition of Justice’s Courts in the territory assigned to them. 
The municipal court of Atlanta has a jurisdiction as high as one 
thousand dollars. The judges are appointed by the Governor on 
recommendation of the Superior Court Judges. They are paid sal¬ 
aries by the county but out of fees collected. 

None of the above mentioned courts are in any way related to the 
many police courts or Mayor’s Courts. There is one of these in 
every town in the state. They are concerned only with the laws made 
by the city governments. In Atlanta this Court is called the Re¬ 
corder’s Court. Sometimes they are held by the Mayor of the town, 
but in the larger cities a special judge is appointed. He is not 



44 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


necessarily a lawyer and his salary is generally paid by the town or 
city. 

This leaves only the Appellate Courts to consider and with these 
we must deal briefly. The Supreme Court of Georgia and the Court 
of Appeals each consists of six justices. They sit solely to correct the 
errors of the courts of original jurisdiction. Their powers are so 
nearly the same as to make them practically the same court, though 
the Supreme Court out-ranks the Court of Appeals and sometimes has 
to correct errors of the latter. These Courts never hear any evidence 
but pass upon cases solely on the record from the courts below. 

The salaries of these judges is a matter deserving attention. 
Twenty-five or thirty years ago the cost for all salaries in appellate 
matters was nine thousand dollars ($9,000) a year. At the present 
time the cost of salaries in the Appellate Courts is one hundred and [ 
twenty thousand ($120,000) dollars a year. Such a tremendous in¬ 
crease in this item ought to challenge the public interest. 

This statement does not by any means necessarily imply that the 
judges are too highly paid, but it is quite certain that, if all the 
other expenses of government had increased at the same rate, the 
expenses of government to day would be forty or fifty million dol¬ 
lars annually instad of ten or twelve millions. 

Without undertaking to point out why there has been so astound¬ 
ing an increase, or what the remedy is, the writer ventures the opin¬ 
ion that intelligent consideration of the question will result in greater 
efficiency and less expense. 

QUESTIONS 

1— Explain the two-fold function of the Judicial department of 
any government. 

2— What provisions does the law make for the carrying out of 
this function? 

3— -Explain the division of courts and the jurisdiction of each 
division. 

4— How is the Superior Court system worked? Explain the 
the circuit arrangement. 

5— How much jurisdiction has the superior court? 

6— How are the judges of the superior court chosen? 

7— What is a militia district? Who presides over it and what is 
the extent of his jurisdiction in criminal and civil cases? 

8— Who determines matters concerning the proof of wills, the 
administration of estates and matters of succession? How 
is he elected? 

9— How are special courts created and what is their purpose? 

10— What is the difference between municipal courts and police 
courts? 

11— Name the appellate courts and define their jurisdiction. 



Studies in Citizenship foe Geoegia Women 


45 


Lesson IX. 

TAXATION, 

by James A. Hollomon, Associate Editor The Constitution 

In any study of tax systems for a commonwealth the student must 
'differentiate between fundamental (or constitutional) and statutory 
laws. The constitutional system is the supreme authority, written 
into the constitution and sacredly guarded by its protecting influ¬ 
ences, to the legislature, prescribing and limiting its acts in impos¬ 
ing taxes for the administration of government in all its branches. 
To change—repeal or amend—such a system requires first the sub¬ 
mission of a constitutional bill to the people by a two-third vote of 
the respective memberships of the two houses and of the general as¬ 
sembly, and subsequently its acceptance by the qualified electors of 
a state in a general election. This, in the wisdom of the fathers, was 
a necessary safeguard against the intrigues of politics, so common 
in legislative bodies—these intrigues being frequently directed 
against some class or element, contrary to justice, and to the spirit 
of the taxing system, which is to distribute taxes as equitably as prac¬ 
ticable, among all citizens, and to restrict the levies to the fair de¬ 
mands for necessary governmental services, honestly and economi¬ 
cally administered. 

The statutory system is made up of those laws governing the 
procuring of revenues from all sources other than the constitutional 
system’s provisions, for the general state fund, or for special allow¬ 
ances for special services, as the statutes themselves may provide and 
direct. Such statutes may be repealed, amended or revised at each 
session of the general assembly without ratification by the people. 
The statutory tax laws cover the privilege or occupational taxes, 
which charge a certain fee for conducting a certain business in a 
certain locality, or practicing a certain profession, or engaging in a 
certain line of soliciting, or other activities. They cover also taxes 
on inheritances; on corporation; public utilities; capitation or poll 
taxes; “turn-overs” (such as the 3 1-2 cent a gallon taxes in Georgia 
on the retail sales of gasoline, and the newly enacted 10 per cent 
gross on the sales of cigars and cigarettes); automobile licenses, evi¬ 
denced by the registry tag; and all other sources of income with a 
state treasury, to be disbursed for administrative, or special pur¬ 
poses. 



46 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


THE BASIC SYSTEMS. 

There are three pronounced basic systems for raising revenues 
for a state’s governmental purposes; namely; the ad valorem, or 
property tax, which means levies against the assessed valuations of 
all properties, real and personal, at a specified rate, or differientiated 
rates. 

Properties are classed as visible and invisible. Visible proper¬ 
ties are real estate and improvements, and such personal holdings 
as household furniture, live stock, automobiles, jewelry, farm uten¬ 
sils and machinery, merchandise, and all visible properties that are 
open to the eyes of the tax assessors. Such properties are also called 
“tangibles.” Invisible properties are such as notes, stocks, bonds, 
capital, and all documentary evidences of wealth. Such properties 
are also called “intangibles.” 

There are two methods of levying taxes on properties; one is at 
a uniform rate, which applies the same tax rate to real estate as to 
money or bonds—that is, the same rate on visibles and invisibles. 
Georgia has such a method prescribed in the constitution, which 
provides that the state rate shall be “uniform” on all classes of 
property, and that “it shall not exceed five mills”—which is a maxi¬ 
mum limitation of one-half of one per cent 

The other method is classification of properties, as for instance 
cultivated lands in one class, unimproved rural lands in another, city- 
improved and unimproved in others, money in another, stocks and 
bonds in another, farm machinery in another, live stock in another, 
personal in another, and so on, with different rates fixed for each 
“class.” This is regarded as fairer than the “uniform rate” for the 
reason that different properties have different earning capacities, and 
some properties are given in, or assessed at a valuation less than par, 
while other properties, as for instance “money,” must by virtue of 
par xchange value, be assessed at 100 cents on the dollar. Most 
states have the ad valorem or property tax systems. 

Another basic system, .and one that is heard a great deal of at 
present, is the “income tax,” which may be applied to either net or 
gross incomes. This means that every individual, corporation, or 
firm, whatever may be the sources of incomes, must pay (over and 
above the exemptions allowed by the laws on the machinery by which 
a system may be enforced) a certain percentage, as provided on 
every dollar of income—the individual’s “net” being the entire 
income from all sources in excess of the personal exemptions allowed 
a single man, or a married man with or without children, exemptions 
being based upon the number of such dependents; and the corpora¬ 
tion’s or firm’s “net” being the gross profits of business, less costs 
of operation—the net earnings. Incomes from stocks, bonds, in¬ 
terests, rents, fees, commissions, salaries as well as from the opera¬ 
tions of industry or business or farming, or what not, are included, 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


47 


and must be accounted for, in an income tax system. Rates are 
based upon percentages and not upon millage as in valuations of 
property. 

Another basic system, not in general use in this county except as 
“special” taxes as provided in statutes, is the “sales tax,” which 
means a payment to the state of a certain percentage of the gross 
cash and charge sales of every article and commodity, unless ex¬ 
empted, that is turned over or transferred from one person or group 
to another. This may apply to all articles of merchandise, raw and 
manufactured production, and everything that is sold in all lines of 
merchandising. Such taxes are transferred, of course, to the con¬ 
sumers, as are most taxes in the final analysis; and the poor child 
who buys a bag of candy is as much a tax payer in the real sense 
as the man of wealth who buys a $5,000.00 automobile, or the ma¬ 
terials for a $100,000 home. 

SHOULD BE INVESTMENT. 

There are certain fundamentals associated with taxation that 
should be outstanding in the framing and administration of any of 
the various employed and suggested systems. 

One—and admittedly the most important—is, that taxes should 
be investments on the part of the taxpayers and not burdens; and 
that the dividends, in service, should be so remunerative that the 
taxpayers will not only feel justified in paying any reasonable levies, 
but will meet them with a spirit of private co-operation and co-ordi¬ 
nation with governmental activities that will tend toward greater 
material and stronger bonds of community democracy. 

Somebody has said, and very aptly— 

“Taxation is not a power to be exercised to exploit the people, 
as was done by the over-lords in feudal times, but a mutual obligation 
of the people to meet the rightful demands of the commonwealth for 
the prosperity and happiness of all. The powers should be applied 
with extremest caution that no injustice be done and that it do not 
cripple commerce, nor impede industry, nor lessen employment, nor 
needlessly burden.” 

Taxation must be fair, and to be fair it must be equitably dis¬ 
tributed. 

It should not exceed in the aggregate the legitimate progressive 
demands of a government, federal, state, county, municipal; but it 
should provide ample revenues for these respective governmental 
functionings, so that the benefits that revert' back to the taxpayer— 
the proper upkeep and maintenance of institutions, the adequacy of 
education, the maintenance of public health, the construction of 
highways, the administration of public services, the protection of si- 
ciety, the safeguarding of the home, the promotion of law and order 
—shall not be abridged by reason of the inadequacy of funds. 



48 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Governmental activities can be conducted only by taxing those 
individuals and interests who live and conduct business, enjoy the 
protection of law, and benefit by the privilege of citizenship under 
the sheltering wing of inter-allied governments. 

Enemies of the ad valorem or property tax system have declared 
that this has thrown the burden of taxation upon the farmer, whose 
lands are visible, and unwittingly given immunity to a brace of tax 
liars whose securities are invisible. That is true not only as applied 
to farmers, but all land owners in far too many instances. It is true 
in Georgia, where the ad valorem system has fallen down, due, how¬ 
ever, not so much as to the system in general, as to the uniform rate, 
which is unfair and unjust, and to that extent is inefficient, and a 
failure in reading intangible properties. 

Even then it must not be overlooked that the welfare of the 
farmer does not lie in stagnating manufactures; it lies in promoting 
them. It does not lie in stifling public utilities, but in promoting 
them. It does not lie in taking away the incentive for business, but 
in promoting that incentive. The highest aim of statecraft should 
be equality of distribution of the burdens of the government as well 
as equality of distribution of the benefits of the government. 

That applies to all—rich and poor, black and white, fanner and 
mechanic, banker and baker, employer and employee. 

The greatest problem in Georgia today is the raising of sufficinf 
revenue to meet the demands of the state administration, and to pro¬ 
vide adequately for the support and maintenance of her sovereigis 
and higher educational institutions, and her elementary schools. 

In order to provide sufficient revenue it has been generally be¬ 
lieved that taxes will have to be increased. 

That is entirely a mistake. To make such a statement is simply 
an evidence of ignorance as to all the proven rules of scientific 
taxation. 

Instead of making heavier the tax burdens upon the people, al¬ 
ready too heavy, it is possible to reduce them and at the same time 
to very materially increase the gross of the state’s annual income. 

The answer to how this can be done is contained in the one word, 
“distribution.” 

In other words, there are thousands of people in Georgia who are 
enjoying the full benefits of the sovereignty, who are absolutely 
immune, under the present Georgia laws, from taxation, except pos¬ 
sibly the capitalization taxes. There are 900,000 adults in Georgia’s 
population of 3,000,000 who do not pay the state any property or 
or capitation tax, and 500,000 payers of property taxes who do not 
pay capitation taxes. 

There are tens of thousands who are paying less taxes than the 
letter or the spirit of the laws require; and there are still tens of 
thousands of others who are paying more taxes than they should be 




Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


49 


required to pay on a fair basis of equalization, or in pursuance of 
any modern system of tax distribution, if Georgia had such a modern 
system. 

It is very easy to see that where the rate of taxation is the same 
on different classes of property, the taxable values of which can run 
the gauntlet, practically, of the full one hundred cents in the dollar, 
the average taxpayer is not going to uncover the “intangiblesand 
in a great many instances will hide with equal viligance the more 
visible personal properties. Particularly will the intangibles be in¬ 
creased on such unfair basis when the same intangibles are also sub¬ 
ject to county and municipal assessments at open-door rates, ad 
libitum. 

Now, as to the thousands of citizens of Georgia who are today 
immune from taxes, and by this is meant those citizens who have 
large earnings but who own no properties, real or personal, in Geor¬ 
gia, these can only be reached by a graduated levy on net incomes. 

The citizens referred to are not tax dodgers. They do not pay 
taxes because they have no legal opportunity to do so. They are 
salaried men, or men whose incomes are based upon commissions or 
fees; and, though patrons of the schools and beneficiaries of all the 
advantages of a state government, as non-property holders, there 
are at present no angles to the tax laws that will reach them. It 
is not their fault. It is the fault of the system. 

Where the property tax is supplemented by a net income tax, 
property should be absolved from double taxation, and the exemption 
should be sufficiently large as to work no hardship upon the wage 
earner. With such a co-ordinated system the rates should be re¬ 
duced—ad valorem and income— to the lowest possible minimum. 

RATES AND SYSTEMS 

Florida has the ad valorem system and differentiates the levy; 
that is to say, so many mills for this purpose, and so many for that, 
and so on. The total amounts to 10 3-4 mills. 

Louisiana imposes a total of 5 1-4 mills for all state purposes, 
also segragated, and is supposed to assess property at full value, by 
statute, but does not do so—actual percentage being around 60 pet 
cent of “fair cash value.” Her ad valorem state rate, therefore, is 
at least 25 per cent greater than Georgia’s. 

Lousisiana raises nearly three times the revenue that is raised in 
Georgia, but has the advantage of a severance tax that Georgia can¬ 
not impose, and also raises more from her inheritance and corporate 
franchise taxes. 

Mississippi's ad valorem rate is 9 mills, and her basis of assessment 
has been, within the last year, statutorily placed at “full value.” 
She is imposing the millage this year, however, on practically an 
actual 40 per cent average of full values, gradually working up to 



50 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


the new law by equalization, and without radical steps. When the 
full value is imposed she proposes to drop her rate accordingly. Mis¬ 
sissippi’s state property taxes, therefore, are almost, if not indeed, 
double the Georgia rate, on a basis of Georgia’s assessed values. 

Tennessee imposes a 2.60 mill rate on actual cash values. This 
is segregated as in most of the other states, the dividing in the gross 
rate into specific funds for specific purposes having been found more 
satisfactory to the taxpayer, and less subject to political maneuvering 
in the legislature. 

Tennessee’s state tax rate, therefore, is slightly heavier than 
Georgia, figuring the assessed valuations. 

In passing, let me say that Tennessee has a “sliding scale” rate 
fixed by law. As assessment totals increase, the rate must auto¬ 
matically decrease, and so on. 

Alabama’s state rate totals 6 1-4 mills on supposedly 60 per cent 
valuations, but like Georgia, Alabama does not live to the law, and 
the average is around 40 per cent, or about the same as in Georgia. 
Alabama’s state rate, therefore, is about 12 1-2 cents on the $100 of 
assessed value greater than Georgia’s. Alabama segregates; and her 
annual income into the treasury is around $2,000,000 greater than 
Georgia’s. 

South Carolina has a state rate that totals 12 mills on a statutory 
42 per cent valuation. The average is actually under 30 per cent, 
and the Palmetto state, therefore, imposes a state property tax, 
which is 85 per cent of her entire state income of practically double 
that of Georgia. 

North Carolina, under a rigid revaluation act, carrying the 
property to the tax books at full value, in 1919 reduced her old 
rate of 14 1-2 mills to 4.98 mills, and through the bringing of in¬ 
tangibles to the books by strong, teethy legislation, and the imposing 
of a mild income tax on salaries, fees and commissions, with the Fed¬ 
eral law exemptions, entirely dropped the property levy in 1920 and 
1921. This was done by distributing the burdens of taxation. 

Virginia has also solved the problem of distribution of taxes, and 
by bringing the intangibles to the surface, stiffening her inheritance 
tax laws, and imposing a mild graduated net income tax, has found 
it possible to reduce the tax on real estate to 2 1-2 mills, on a basis 
of 30 per cent average valuation—or less than half the rate in Geor¬ 
gia. That tax is imposed for schools, roads and health-—there being 
no property tax for the general fund. 

Virginia’s total income is practically double that of Georgia. 

It will be observed that the Georgia state rate is low as compared 
to other Southern states adhering to the ad valorem system, but the 
maximum rate is fixed by the constitution. 

And yet while the Georgia property rate is low as compared to 
other states, the fact- is indisputable that the Georgian who does not 




Studies in Citizenship foe Geoegia Women 


51 


escape taxation through the inequitable system pays as a rule more 
taxes than does the citizen of like property wealth and income in 
another state that has a far greater gross annual revenue, and is 
thereby permitted to take better care of her institutions, and shov 
a greater degree of commonwealth progressiveness. This is obvious 
to any student of taxation. 

Thousands of people of Georgia are tax-ridden, while other thou¬ 
sands, so far as the state taxes are concerned, are tax dodgers and 
tax immune. 

What is the cause? A faulty, leaky, thoroughly outlawed sys¬ 
tem, born in carpet-bagism, and kept in force, through lack of fore¬ 
sight and business judgment, and through prejudices and passions 
fanned by radicals and demagog politicians. 

Georgia’s present system of taxation was first made a part of 
our fundamental law by the constitutional convention of 1867, which 
was held under the military rule in the Bulloch regime. 

In the constitution of 1867 it is thus set out— 

“And taxation on property shall be ad valorem only, and uniform 
on all species of property.” 

The constitution of 1877 contains different phraseology on this 
subject. It reads thus, in paragraph 1, section 2, article 7: 

“All taxation shall be uniform upon the same class of subjects, 
and ad valorem on all property subject to be taxed within the terri¬ 
torial limits of the authority levying the tax.” 

Our supreme court has held, in substance, that the legal effect 
is the same in both instruments and we are therefore required to 
tax all property at the same rate, whether it returns much, little or 
no income, so long as the constitution remains as it is. 

REMEDY FOR GEORGIA. 

What is the remedy for Georgia’s present deplorable condition of 
state finances? 

Under such circumstances always the most appealing remedy is 
justified economy. And by that is meant economy that is real and 
not fallacious, and that is wise and not beggarly. The legislature 
should start with itself, cut out its annual joy ride and confine itself 
to a biennial session for business only, and not for promoting indi¬ 
vidual political booms with a capital full of “patronage.” 

Another is greatly reduced property tax rate levy, properly classi¬ 
fied as to different kinds of properties. 

This may sound paradoxical— reduced taxes for increased gross 
income. But it is an established rule in economies, and proven by 
the last income tax returns to the federal government. 

If Georgia should classify her properties on the digests so that 
there would be no inequalities, and no flagrant abuses of the sup¬ 
posed equities of taxation, as at present, the intangible properties 



52 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


could be brought out from their hiding places, provided the rate 
for par valuation should be nominal, and moneys and credit paper 
should be automatically exempt from county and municipal taxation. 

They can never be reached so long as the state rate on money or 
credit paper is five mills at par valuation, while a far more profitable 
income property has the same five-mill rate on 10 or 20 per cent of 
merchantable valuation. 

Injustices create revolt, and revolt breeds revolution. 

Kentucky taxes real estate at $4 per $1,000, and money and 
live stock at $1 per $1,000; and money and live stock are exempted 
from all local taxes. Real estate is subject to municipal, county and 
school taxes as in Georgia. 

Kentucky taxes stocks and bonds, farm implements, manufactur¬ 
ing machinery and raw materials at the plants at $4 per $1,000, and 
exempts them from all county, school and municipal taxes. 

INTANGIBLES HIDDEN. 

Georgia taxes them at $5 per $1,000 for the state and they are 
subject to city, county and school taxes. 

In Atlanta the taxes on $1,000 of bonds paying 5 per cent or 6 


per cent would be— 

City tax _$15.00 

County tax_ 10.00 

State tax__ 5.00 


Total_$30.00 


Nobody is going to pay $30 tax on an investment which returns 
$50 or $60 or on money in a savings bank which is paying $35 a 
year on $1,000. 

Georgia’s tax law so far as it relates to intangibles is a dead 
letter. 

Very few would dodge a tax of $1 on $1,000 of money or $2 to 
$5 on an investment which returned $50 to $70 per $1,000, but they 
will not pay $30 or more. 

With a low rate intangibles will be returned—but only when the 
law provides against retroaction. That is to say, the taxpayer must 
not be penalized for the years his securities were hidden. 

A classification plan which will relieve intangibles of local taxes 
is growing in favor over the state. As it is, practically no revenues 
from intangibles are derived by counties from the present flat rate 
and by the local exemptions the state will be able to uncover them 
by classification. 

Let me again emphasize that reducing tax burdens and making 
of taxation an investment instead of a burden is the most important 
thing before the people today; and in Georgia the distribution must 
be so shaped, in fairness and justice to all, that the state’s revenue 








Studies in Citizenship eor Georgia Women 


53 


may be increased through the legitimate taxation of those who are 
today either legally immune, or are escaping taxation. 

This can be done by a moderate income tax graduated in rates, 
with such exemptions as not to impose burdens upon any one, and 
this only with the provision that there shall be no double taxation— 
that is to say, owners of income properties shall not pay taxes both 
upon the properties and the income from the properties, and so on. 

The suggestion for this nominal net income tax as an auxiliary 
to a classified property tax with greatly reduced rates is to reach 
that class of Georgians who own no properties but whose salaries or 
fees, or commission incomes, are sufficiently large that they should 
not escape taxation as required of other citizens. 

As stated before, these people as a rule want to pay taxes. They 
^re among the state’s best citizens, and enjoy the benefits of the 
state and local governments. They do not pay taxes because there 
is no legal channel now through which they can pay taxes. There¬ 
fore, any income tax law in Georgia should be framed in conjunction 
with a classified property tax, and the whole co-ordinated so that 
the general taxes shall be lowered instead of increased, and by the 
same token the state get an increased annual revenue. 

It would be jumping from the frying pan into the fire to abandon 
altogether the ad valorem tax and substitute an income tax as the 
primary system. There would be even greater injustices than there 
are today. Hundreds of thousands of acres of Georgia lands are 
held by Eastern and Central Western and even foreign ownerships. 
To say these lands, most of which are held for speculation, shall be 
tax immune, is unthinkable. 

The boll weevil has produced an economic condition among farm¬ 
ers whereby hundreds of farms today are passing into outside-state 
speculative ownerships. To say these new owners of these farms 
shall escape taxation is unreasonable. Income taxes where wholly 
relied upon, create inequalities that are distressing, and will sooner 
or later break the system down. They also penalize thrift and throttle 
big industrial development. 

But by making the exemptions very large and the rate on net 
incomes graduated, increasing gradually as the income increases 
above the exemptions, absolving all properties or incomes from 
properties from the double taxation, one class of Georgians can be 
reached that now escapes, through no fault other than the system 
which excuses them from taxation. 

The maximum real estate rate in Georgia should not be over two 
mills for the state, and the counties should be limited in segregated 
totals to a uniform maximum. This should be in conjunction with a 
thorough system of revaluations. 

Property for state taxes should be classified so that moneys and 
prima facia par valuations should be taxed not over one milk 




54 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Then supplement with the nominal net and graduated income 
tax to reach the citizens of large incomes who are propertyless, or 
who have invested in tax exempts, an inviting hiding place always 
for surplus moneys, and with a teethy tax administration, not de¬ 
stroyed by beggarly restrictions, the tax situation in Georgia will 
be solved. 

The tax “burdens” in Georgia are caused by the unrestricted 
local rates, and no workable system adopted by the state should omit 
a statutory restriction of county and municipal rates, for whatever 
system may be adopted for the state the local taxes will always be 
from an ad valorem, or property system, at a uniform rate. 

The constitution of the state should not leave the bars down for 
any double system, that is both a property and an income tax. The 
system that I have outlined as desirable contemplates the levying 
of an income tax only upon those of large incomes who do not ap¬ 
pear on the property digests. The provision of safeguards in the 
constitution against a “plus” system is most important. 

QUESTIONS 

1 — What two systems of tax laws are there? Which has to be 
ratified by the people? 

2— What do the statutory tax laws cover? 

3— What are the three basic systems for raising revenue for a 
state? Explain. 

4— What are the distinguishing terms applied to property? Give 
examples of each. 

5 — How many methods of levying property taxes are there? 
At what rate is property in Georgia taxed constitutionally? 

6— Discuss the income tax system; special taxes; sales tax. 

7— Who ultimately pays all taxes? 

8 — What does the author consider the fundamental idea of 
taxation which tends toward greater material progress? 

9— Under the present system what class of people pays the bulk 
of the taxes and what class is practically immune? 

10— What is the greatest problem in Georgia today? 

11— What would be a co-ordinated system of taxes? What sys¬ 
tem is conceded to get the best results? In what states has 
this been demonstrated? 

12 — Discuss the author’s idea as to the remedy for Georgia's 
tax situation. 

13— Compare Kentucky’s laws with Georgia’s. What is the great 
difference? 

14— How can “double” taxation be avoided? 

15— Does the author favor the abandonment of the ad valorem 
tax? How does he suggest equalizing the income tax? 

16— What is the real cause of the tax burdens in Georgia? 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


55 


Lesson X. 

HOW THE STATE’S MILLIONS COME AND GO. 

By H. L. Fuelbright, Tax Commissioner 

The revenues of the state of Georgia are derived from the gen¬ 
eral property tax, which is supposed to be levied on all property, both 
of public utilities and private citizens, at a uniform rate of five mills 
maximum; from poll taxes of $1.00 upon each citizen of the state 
between the ages of 21 and 60; from special license taxes on busi¬ 
nesses, inspection fees and sales taxes on fuel oils; license taxes on 
motor vehicles, inheritance taxes, and the rental of the Western and 
Alabama Railroad. 

The Comptroller-General of the state is the head of the tax de¬ 
partment and all of the tax returns of public utility corporations are 
made to that official and their taxes are paid direct to him. 

Private property is returned in the county in which it is located 
to the official known as the receiver of tax returns. The state’s part 
of the taxes on this class of property is collected by the county Tax 
Collector along with the county’s portion of the taxes, then the 
county tax collector makes settlement with the Comptroller-General 
for the state’s taxes. 

In order to adjust as far as possible values as between the individ¬ 
ual tax payers in the several counties, as well as between counties as 
a whole, county boards of equalizers have been provided to review 
the individual tax returns. The office of the State Tax Commissioner 
has been created for the purpose of comparing values in the several 
counties and bringing about equalization of values as far as can be 
done. These are the officials connected with the State’s taxes and 
the administration of the state tax laws. 

The special license taxes are, as a rule, collected by the tax col¬ 
lector of' the county and reported to the Comptroller-General, and 
the same is true of inheritance taxes, except that the appraisement of 
estates for the purpose of inheritance taxes is done either by the or¬ 
dinary of the county or under his direction. In either event it is re¬ 
viewed by the State Tax Commissioner. 

The income for the State of Georgia for the year 1922, as re¬ 
ceived by the State Treasurer, amounted to $12,295,133.48. This 
aggregate sum is made up as follows: 



56 


Studies in Citizenship pob Georgia Woxeb 


Ad valorem taxes on property returned to the tax 
receivers in the various counties of the state 
amounting to 

While the ad valorem taxes on public 
utility properties amounted to 


$ 5,256,559.93 
602,549.9$ 


Making the total property tax for the year 

$ 

5,859,109.89 

Taxes from license fees, insurance compan¬ 
ies, inspection of oils and fertilizers, sales 
of gasoline, and occupation taxes, aggregate 


3,174,705.00 

Motor vehicles 


1,831,274.69 

Inheritance taxes 


282,813.74 

Poll taxes 


344,155.54 

Rental of the W. & A. R. R. 


540,000.00 

Sale ©f various classes of state property, in¬ 
cluding refunding bonds, and rents from the 
mansion property aggregated 

$ 

263,074.62 


DISBURSEMENTS, 

There was paid out by the State Treasurer during 
the following sums and for the following, causes: 
Highway Department 
Common Schools 

To the higher educational institutions 
Vocational training and rehabilitation 
To State Sanitarium for Insane 
Public Debt 

Refund of W. & A. Rental (discontinued) 

Pension Fund 

Agricultural Department of the State 
Civil establishment, including salaries of 35 
Superior Court judges and the 12 judges of 
the courts of final resort and clerks, and 
the various state departments 
Pay-roll and incidental expenses ©f the legis¬ 
lature and its committees 
Military Department 
Prison Department 
Insurance for public buildings 
State Board of Health 

Academy for the Blind, School for Deaf & 

Dumb, Sanitarium for Tubercular Patients, 
and the State Institution for Feeble-minded 
Printing Fund 

Contingent fund for the Governor and va- 
rius state departments 
Fund for public buildings and grounds 


the year 1922, 

$ 1,837,756.66 
4,532,408.63 
1,063,933.68 
43,934.79 
990,000.00 
539,157.59 
540,000.00 
1,051,254.20 
340,585.91 


438,985.46 

128,547.56 

49,885.10 

107,500.00 

108,975.62 

91,431.00 


234,047.27 

82,773.99 

38,869.15 

41,352.35 





Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


57 


State Board of Public Welfare 
Agricultural Experiment Stations at Griffin 
and Tifton 

Departmen of Archives and History 
Department of Commerce and labor 
Department of Public Printing 
Department of Insurance 
Department of Geology 
Department Game and Fish 
Library Commission, Legislative Reference 
Bureau, and Library Funds 
Fees for solicitor-general 
Refund loss of school warrants 
For printing Georgia Reports, refund of over¬ 
payment of taxes, reward funds, and other 
small items 

Making the total amount paid out by the State 
Treasurer for the year 


15,350.81 

37,739.24 

6,000.00 

8,100.00 

5,225.00 

9,170.22 

15,391.00 

3,600.00 

11,796.61 

10,480.00 

44,711.00 


42,100.07 

$12,471,062.82 


State funds, after reaching the state treasurer, can only be paid 
out by that official when appropriated by the General Assembly, and 
it is one of the duties of the Comptroller-General of the state of 
Georgia to audit all warrants issued by the executive on the State 
Treasury and see that the appropriation has been made to the cause 
for which said warrant is drawn and that such appropriation has not 
been exhausted by previous warrants. In the absence of any state 
auditing department, the Comptroller-General's office performs most 
of the duties of a state auditor in so far as approving the warrants 
drawn on the Treasury is concerned. 

QUESTIONS 

1— How are taxes levied? 

2— What are the duties of the Comptroller-General, receiver of 
tax returns, tax collector, county board of equalizers, and the 
state tax commissioner? 

3— Give the sources of income for the state of Georgia in 1922. 

4— State for what purposes spent. 

5— Who warrants appropriations for disbursements? 




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Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Lesson XI. 

WHAT GEORGIA DOES FOR THE FARMERS. 

by Hon. Martin V. Calvin 

It occurred to the writer that the better caption to the article 1 
would be—“What the farmers do for the state.” This view of the 
case will be presented, in its proper place, later. 

The State’s Educational Appropriations, 1922-’23—- 


For State College of Agriculture $ 80,000 

The State College (Smith-Lever act) 100,000 

The State College extension work 35,000 

The State College Farmers Institutes 2,250 

The 12 Congressional District Schools 

of Agriculture 180,000 

The North Georgia Agricultural College 27,000 


$424,250 

Through Department of Agriculture: 

Maintenance and salaries 
Bureau of Markets-maintenance and 
salary of Director 

Department Chemistry-maintenance 
and salaries 

Pure food-drugs 

Office Veterinarian: Protection against 
ticks, cholera, etc; and for salary 
Department Entomology, maintenance etc., 
and salary 

Oil Inspection and salaries 5,100 277,600 


$701,850 

If one brings oneself to study the above, from an angle which 
may be designated as the true point of view, that is to say, the re¬ 
sults which the appropriations develop educationally and otherwise_- 

the immense benefits and the pecuniary value thereof, one will doubt¬ 
less declare that the great state of Georgia would be practicing true 
economy if she would double the total appropriations, and that, too, 
without un-necessary delay. 


$ 25,500 
103,000 

18.500 
10,000 

42.500 
73,000 





Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


59 


WHO CONSTITUTE THE STATE. 


One can not fully comprehend the gist of the subject under con¬ 
sideration unless one first informs oneself as to the rural compared 
with the urban population of the state. 

It is a fact, that of the 2,895,832 people in this state, 2,167,973 
or 74.8 per cent are in the rural districts; that, of the total white 
population, 1,689,114, 73.8 per cent or 1,234,512 are ruralists. 

Do you know that there are four economic items, distinctively 
rural, which represented, in 1922, 42.6 per cent of the total value 
of Georgia property on the digest? 

The values given are based on “farm prices” which are consider¬ 
ably lower that the true prices i. e., those paid for farm products and 
for live stock by the ultimate purchasers or consumers, as we fre¬ 
quently say. 

Here are the items: 

Value of improved land at $9.16 an acre $303,914,000 

Value house-hold and kitchen furniture 36,405,809 

Value farm implements and machinery 9,109,113 

Value live stock on farms—horses, mules, milch 

cows, beef cattle, swine, etc. 87,685,000 


$437,113,922 

Note the fact that crop values have no place in that group. 

Urbanites, in every walk of life, should have, and religiously live 
up to this motto: “CULTIVATE THE COUNTRY PEOPLE.” 

If one should undertake to tell in detail a story of the activities 
of the Department of Agriculture, particularly during the six years 
last past, one would write a booklet of many pages. The work of 
the Bureau of Markets is so quietly accomplished that it is not 
known to the people at large. The practical protection against hog 
cholera, and the almost complete elimination of the cattle tick is a 
part of the great work done by the Office of Veterinary. The un¬ 
relenting war waged against the boll weevil by the Department of 
Entomology has resulted most encouragingly, but it is a war to 
the death, and the weevil has, as it were, the traditional nine lives 
of an un-neighborly cat. But the weevil will be defeated and ex* 
terminated. The destruction of the weevil is pre-eminently the result 
which must be accomjflished regardless of cost. 

Reference to the bureau of the Department of Agriculture would 
be out of place if the out-standing work of bringing producer and 
buyer face to face, in the matter of bargaining, sale and purchase, 
by the publication each week of thousands of copies of the Market 
Bulletin were not specifically cited. 

The foregoing remarks relate to well considered service rendered 
to farmers throughout the state by the Department of Agriculture 
through its well organized and admirably conducted branches. 





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Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


QUESTIONS 

1— What are the state's annual educational appropriations for 
the special benefit of the farmers? 

2— What does the state appropriate directly through the depart¬ 
ment of agriculture? 

3— Do you consider that Georgia is generous or otherwise to the 
farmers? 

4— Give the proportion of ruralites in Georgia. 

5— What is the estimated value of farm lands, live stock, farm¬ 
ing implements and household furniture exclusive of “crops' ? 

6— Does the writer consider the Bureau of Markets valuable to 
the farmers? 

7 — Mention some of the various phases of protective work of the 
Department of Agriculture. 

8— What is the name of the weekly publication of the Depart¬ 
ment? 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


61 


Lesson XII. 


OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

by Nathaniel Harrison Ballard, State School Superintendent 

A series of regional conferences on public education have been 
held in different parts of the state during the month of September. 
These conferences were called by the State Department of Educa¬ 
tion preliminary to the survey of Georgia s public school system 
which will be made by the state school supervisors, assisted by local 
superintendents, teachers, school board members, and trustees. 

This survey will cover the entire field of school endeavor, includ¬ 
ing buildings and equipment; preparation and training of teachers, 
as well as maximum and minimum salary paid; school census, en¬ 
rollment, and average attendance; reasons for non-attendance; the 
method of financing schools and present balance or deficit. In fact, 
by this survey we hope to learn the real truth about our schools, 
especially the rural schools. The information gained will form the 
basis for future recommendations and legislation. 

The state of Georgia leads all other states in the per capita ap¬ 
propriations from her treasury to her common schools; also, a greater 
percentage of her revenue is devoted to her common schools. In¬ 
deed, the state legislature has been lavish in appropriations to the 
common schools. Yet, in educational attainments and accomplish¬ 
ments, when compared to other states, we find ourselves at the foot 
of the list—one state alone competing with us for this unenviable 
position. 

In 1922 there were 202,000 children in the first grades of the 
state. The city and well-organized town systems are promoting from 
50 to 70 per cent, of the children from the first grade, but in the 
rural schools (which hold more than 70 per cent, of Georgia’s child¬ 
ren) it takes an average of three years for a child to complete the 
first grade. Moreover, the average educational attainment of the 
rural child is less than the third grade. 

The state supervisors tell us that there are 2,000 teachers in our 
rural schools who are untrained and inexperienced. This year the 
Legislature set aside $20,000 to be used for Teacher’s Institutes in 
different parts of the state. These institutions will not in any way 
compete with those schools already organized at Athens, Milledge- 
ville, Valdosta and other cities. Teachers will be encouraged to at¬ 
tend these schools of the University System if possible. These Teach¬ 
er’s Institutes will take care of a pressing emergency. Our Normal 
Schools are crowded to the limit, yet they are supplying to the 
schools only 500 teachers a year. The vacancies each year are more 



62 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


than 3,000, and the majority of these vacancies are filled by inexperi¬ 
enced and untrained teachers, many of whom do not have even the 
subject matter of a common school education. 

Whether we wish it or not, more than 2,000 untrained and inex¬ 
perienced teachers will teach our rural schools for the coming year. 
These Institutes will be organized for the immediate training of these 
teachers. They will be located in places that offer the least expense 
to the teachers, for the teachers who will attend receive only a pit¬ 
tance of salary and are unable to pay any great amount. 

These schools will be intensely practical, and we hope to obtain 
the best primary teachers in America to teach them. Around each 
school will be organized a temporary school of twenty or thirty 
children so that the untrained, inexperienced teacher will observe 
just how the master teacher would organize a school; how she ar¬ 
ranges her program; how she handles children just entering school, so 
that in a short time as these young teachers go to schools similarly 
situated, they may be able to handle the situation. 

In a recent decision the Supreme Court (in the case of Hanks vs. 
D’Arcy from Floyd County) has laid down a very broad principle 
that the Legislature has the right to authorize counties to make a 
levy for educational purposes. If this decision had been made forty 
years ago the entire educational history of the state would have been 
different. Indeed, the Elders-Carswell Constitutional amendment of 
1920 would have been unnecessary. It might be well to explain that 
this does not give counties the right to levy taxes for schools, but 
the Legislature can do the same for schools. 

To build a school system for Georgia we could use the Elders- 
Carswell amendment, as well as the court decision in the above cited 
case, as the cornerstone upon which to build. First, establish a 
standard state school—such a school as will be maintained all over 
the state, and every child will have access to one. For example, let 
this be an eight months school, taught by first-grade licensed teach¬ 
ers, who must be paid living wages. For the support of such a 
school let the legislature authorize and direct every county in the 
state to levy a tax of, say, six mills. Such a tax levied in Fulton 
County would support the standard school above outlined, yet, at 
the same time, would not forbid in any way Fulton County from ex¬ 
tending her school term, employing a higher grade of teachers and 
giving better supervision than that attempted by the standard schools 
of the state. 

Yet, if this same tax levy were made in Dawson County—rich 
only in the number of her children—-it would support the schools for 
more than five months. The state’s appropriation should be used to 
bring Dawson’s opportunities up to those of Fulton by maintaining 
an eight months school accessible to every child. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


63 


DIVISION OF APPROPRIATION. 

We must take into consideration the fact that however willing 
the state may be to increase her appropriation to common schools, 
the limit has almost been reached. With the demand for pensioners 
and other pressing obligations, it will be impossible within the next 
few years for the state to increase her school appropriation mater¬ 
ially. Presuming that the state can give $6,000,000, and perhaps she 
ought to give that much and no more, let us divide this into three 
equal parts and distribute the first $2,000,000 to the counties on the 
basis of their school population, or, better still, their school at¬ 
tendance. 

The second $2,000,000 would be used as an equalizing fund for 
the poorer counties as outlined above and make equal educational 
opportunities for every child in the state. 

The last $2,000,000 could be used for several purposes. First, 
under the Barrett-Rogers Act, to encourage consolidation of schools 
and increased efficiency in high schools—especially in rural high 
schools. This has meant much to Georgias’ schools and in the last 
two years $2,000,000 has been spent by the people of the state for 
buildings and equipment. Also, a part of this last third of the 
$6,000,000 should be set aside as a building fund to aid poorer com¬ 
munities in building standard school buildings. There are communi¬ 
ties in Georgia, far away from the railroad, that are taxing them¬ 
selves to the limit, making sacrifices that are heroic. If the richer 
communities in the state would make equal sacrifices, they could 
build their schoolhouses of marble and furnish them like unto palaces. 

QUESTIONS 

1— In what respect does Georgia lead all other states? 

2— In what respect is Georgia at the foot of the list? 

3— How many children were there in the first grades in 1922? 

4— What per cent in the cities and towns were promoted? 

5— What per cent of school children are in the rural schools; 
how long does the average rural child remain in the first 
grade? 

6— >What is the average educational attainment of the rural 
child? 

7— Name some of the things which hold back the rural schools. 

8— What recent decision of the Supreme Court should have been 
acted upon forty years ago? 

9— Name some of the things which should be done at once to 
build the proper school system for Georgia. 

10— Is it likely that Georgia can or will increase her school ap¬ 
propriation ? 

11— How should the $6,000,000 school fund be divided in order 
to get the best results? 



64 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


Lesson XIII. 

COUNTIES AND COUNTY GOVERNMENT. 
by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Counties in Georgia, and generally throughout the United States, 
are very different from counties in England. This is a fact not fully 
appreciated by the public, and not always by the lawyers themselves. 

In England a county is, or was at the time of the founding of 
Georgia, a mere territorial district without any governmental func¬ 
tions. It was not a governmental organization In Georgia a county 
is a governmental unit with extensive functions to discharge, differ¬ 
ing very little from a town or city in principle, exercising many gov¬ 
ernmental powers and enjoying, by authority of the state, a consid¬ 
erable measure of local self-government. This change has come 
about through a process of legal evolution. 

During colonial days Georgia was divided up, or at least the set¬ 
tled parts of the state were divided up into twelve parishes, which 
were part of and intimately woven in with the established church 
of England, or with that branch of it that was located in Georgia. 
At the time of the Revolution the people of the state organized 
themselves into a government and formed for themselves a consti¬ 
tution. 

At that time the twelve parishes, like the English parishes, had 
some inchoate governmental powers, and were undeveloped govern¬ 
mental organisms. Their principal duties and authority were in 
connection with providing revenues for the church. When the rev¬ 
olutionary government of Georgia was established, the parishes were 
called counties, and carried with them their parish, functions, except 
that they were no longer part of the eccleciastical establishment. 
The counties thus formed were nearly all named for English states¬ 
men who were favorable to the cause of the colonies. They were 
Wilkes, Richmond, Burke, Effingham, Chatham, Liberty, Glynn, and 
Camden, eight in number, some of the parishes being for this pur¬ 
pose consolidated 

In 1785 a large tract of land was acquired from the Indians and 
laid off into two more counties, called Washington and Franklin. 
These were afterwards cut up into a number of other counties. As 
other tracts were acquired from the Indians, still other counties were 
organized. 

For 75 years, or more, the counties continued to be divided and 
frequently the lines between them were changed. These things 
really came to be regarded as a public evil, and when the present 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


65 


constitution was framed in 1877, it forbade the legislature to make 
any more new counties or change the lines of those that existed. 

Down to 1877 the counties were not recognized as corporations 
at all. Their government was, at different times, entrusted to dif¬ 
ferent officers, and in so far as they were recognized as entities at 
all, it was these officers and not the county itself that was recog¬ 
nized. Gradually it came about that the form of government dif¬ 
fered in the different counties, and this brought about another con¬ 
fusion which the constitution of 1877 undertook to correct. At that 
time the affairs of the county were most frequently in the hands of 
a judicial officer called the ordinary, whose functions as county of¬ 
ficer were executive and not judicial. 

The constitution of 1877 contained a full chapter or article on 
the subject of counties, and made a number of provisions that were 
intended to correct certain evils and inconveniences that experience 
had made apparent. 

One of these was a provision that thereafter the counties should 
be corporations. This was intended to transfer the legal existence 
of the county, as an entity, from the governing body to the county 
itself. The logical result of this was to put the counties legally on 
the same basis as towns and cities. 

Another provision prohibited the making of any more counties 
by the legislature. At that time there were 137 counties and this 
number continued until 1906. In 1904 the constitution was so 
amended as to authorize the legislature to create eight new counties, 
and in 1906 the legislature availed itself of this permission. Since 
that time fifteen other counties have been created, not by the legis¬ 
lature, but by constitutional amendments, directly by vote of the 
people. This makes a total of 1«50 counties. In addition to these, 
the legislature proposed an amendment for the creation of Peach 
county, around the town of Fort Valley, and this amendment was 
voted on in November, 1922. The official report of this election 
was to the effect that it was rejected, though it is understood 
that the people of the territory affected claim otherwise, and are 
still making an effort to have the question decided otherwise. 

The same constitution prohibited any more changing of county 
lines by the legislature and provided that the legislature should not 
again change the county seat oj any county, except after the vote 
of two-thirds of the county had consented, and it was approved by 
two-thirds of the legislature. A number of years ago two-thirds 
of the voters at an election in DeKalb county voted to change the 
county seat from Decatur to Stone Mountain, but the legislature 
failed to ratify the change. In 1922 two-thirds of the people of 
Calhoun county voted to change the county seat from Morgan to 
Arlington. The legislature of 1923, by a two-thirds vote, ratified 
the change, and it has now gone into effect^ 



66 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


The constitution also requires that the county officers shall be 
elected by vote of the people of the county. This includes the sheriff, 
the clerk of the Superior court, the tax receiver, the tax collector, the 
treasurer (when they have one), the ordinary, and such officer or 
officers as manage the county affairs. 

It was also provided that whatever tribunal or officers might be 
designated by the legislature to transact the county business, should 
be uniform throughout the state. As first proposed, this meant the 
ordinary, though it left that to the legislature, intending only that 
a uniform system should be adopted. It would, no doubt, have 
been better to adhere to this principle of uniformity. By an amend¬ 
ment, however, engrafted on the provision by the constitution itself, 
the legislature was permitted to provide for the appointment of 
county commissioners in any county, thus leaving it possible to have 
an ordinary in some counties to handle county business, and a board 
of commissioners in others. This limit of variety has been further 
enlarged by a judicial decision that one commissioner may be pro¬ 
vided. 

In consequence of this leave to vary the system, a most unfortu¬ 
nate condition has come about in the way of constant changes in the 
same county. Thus, in DeKalb county, from 1877 until 1886, the 
affairs of the county were administered by the ordinary. In 1886 
the people of the county demanded a change, and the legislature 
gave them a board of five commissioners. In 1890 they were dis¬ 
satisfied with the method of choosing their commissioners, and the 
legislature provided a different system. In 1891 they made another 
change for like reason In 1896 the legislature, at the instance of 
the representatives from DeKalb, abolished the board altogether and 
put the business back in the hands of the ordinary. In 1902, in like 
manner, the legislature took the business away from the ordinary and 
created another Board of Commissioners. In 1906 they abolished 
this board and provided for a single commissioner. 

This experience is typical of many counties. The vacillation of 
purpose thus prohibited results by causing the legislature every 
year to devote much time and many pages of laws to changes in 
some one or more counties. Apparently it rests upon the face of a 
prevailing and erroneous opinion always persisting in the public 
mind that the people can escape the consequences of their own ne¬ 
glect or indifference in choosing public officials, by merely changing 
their form of government, or calling their officials by a different 
name. Their error is commented on by Aesop in his fables of King 
Log and King Stork, and was illustrated im scripture when the peo¬ 
ple of Israel, over the warning protest of Samuel, insisted on having 
a King. 

Changes in the form of government or the names of officials can 
not improve government. Every people get just as good a government 



Studies m Citizenship eor, Georgia Women 


67 


as they deserve. If they use diligence and eare at the ballot box 
they will be well governed. How long it will take for them to learn 
this lesson nobody can tell, but they have not learned it yet. 

Whatever be the name of the governing officer in a county, the 
powers are defined by the law of the state, and must be exercised 
as there pointed out^ If has been said that counties have no legis¬ 
lative authority. This is true in the sense that they can not legislate 
as between individuals nor enact crimes, as cities can. But they 
do exercise considerable legislative authority. They determine what 
their own property taxes shall be, what road they shall build or re¬ 
pair, what changes or repairs shall be made on public buildings and 
bridges, what extent of provision they shall make for the poor, and 
a number of other less important matters. Tn doing these things 
the legislative and executive functions are vested in the same per¬ 
sons. All their duties however, even in these matters, must be per¬ 
formed in obedience to laws enacted directly by the state legislature, 
and according to methods pointed out by that body. They can not 
levy any special taxes as cities do. 

A county government is really an agency of the state, though 
elected by the people of the county, and confining its functions to 
its own territory. Its duties extend in a limited measure to the terri¬ 
tory of any town or city included within its boundaries. The people 
of such a town or city must pay taxes to the county as well as to 
the city, and the county government should spend some equitable 
part of its revenues on the city streets. The county government 
alone, however, may determine what streets it will work on, though 
generally the city government is informally consulted on the subject. 
On the other hand, the city alone controls the street, even though 
the county built it before the city was incorporated In this re¬ 
spect it should be borne in mind that the county roads and city 
streets alike belong to the state, and not to the county or city either. 
The control of either over its roadways extends only as far as the 
state permits, and the state may alter or withdraw the power of 
either at pleasure. 

In a sense a county is an officer of the state, and must conform 
to the state’s laws exactly as any other officer must do. A county 
has no judicial powers at all. All the so-called county officers are 
really officers of the state and not of the county at all, except the 
treasurer and the ordinary or board of commissioners, as the 
case may be. The tax officers, the clerk and the sheriff are indeed 
chosen by the people as state officers and to discharge duties laid on 
them by the state laws. The treasurer handles county funds only, 
and is strictly a county officer The ordinary or commissioners are 
officers both of the state and the county. Their legislative functions 
are discharged for, and in the name of the county, but by authority 
of the legislature and in conformity to its acts. 



68 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


However strange it may seem to say so, a county in Georgia is 
merely a municipal corporation, just as a city is, but with some 
what less extensive or complicated authority. 

QUESTIONS 

1— How do counties in the United States differ from English 
counties? 

2— Trace the evolution of the county in Georgia. 

3— Discuss the provisions of the constitution of 1877 with regard 
to counties. What confusion did it undertake to correct? 

4— What is the present legal basis of a county? 

5— How may a county seat be changed under the present con¬ 
stitution? Cite instances. 

6— How must county officers be elected? Are the county officers 
uniform throughout the state? 

7— Discuss the results of the “leave to vary the uniform sys- 
tem.” 

8— How and by whom are the powers of county officers defined? 

9— Explain the relationship between the county and the state; 
the county and the city. 





Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


69 


Lesson XIV. 

CITIES AND CITY GOVERNMENT. 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

Although our law recognizes a nominal difference between cities, 
towns and villages, there is no difference between them in principle. 
Few urban communities are content to be called villages, and many 
towns, ambitious to be thought metropolitan, insist on being de¬ 
nominated cities. They will all be dealt with here as municipal cor¬ 
porations in the sense in which that term is generally understood. 
They exist as self governing communities in virtue solely of the 
state’s will as expressed by the legislature. Their powers and au¬ 
thority are just such as the state chooses to grant them and no more. 
Their raison d’etre lies in the fact that wherever the population of a 
given territory becomes more dense than elsewhere, a greater need 
exists for rules and laws for promoting the public health, safety, and 
convenience, and the people desire facilities and comforts which 
more scattered populations have ho practicable resources for provid¬ 
ing. In all such cases it is customary for the legislature, by local 
laws, to grant them authority to do such things as they desire to do 
for their own needs, provided they do them at their own expense and 
without interfering with persons inside their limits. 

Every town in the state operates under such a law, enacted solely 
for it, and the provisions of these several laws, or charters as they 
are called, vary No two of them are the same, though there is of 
course a great "similiarity in their general framework. Speaking 
generally, the larger the community, the more extensive will be the 
powers granted it. Indeed, in many of the cities the charter permits 
the doing of many things by the local government, which the state 
would not think of exercising itself. 

Thus, in Atlanta, for instance, the local government may deter¬ 
mine that a particular street shall be paved, partly for the general 
good and partly for the particular benefit of those owning property 
on it. For such cases the state authorizes the city government to 
order or have the work done and assess a part of the cost to the 
abutting owners. The details of how the cost shall be apportioned 
is generally regulated by the state’s own law, but the city deter¬ 
mines all details and may even sell the property of a recalcitrant 
abutter by summary process to compel payment. The state could 
do this, if it saw fit, for the improvement of county roads, but it never 
has, and probably never will. 

In like manner and for like reasons, cities are permitted to do 
many things for the promotion of their own welfare. They may 




70 


Studies in Citizenship eoe Geoegia Women 


build sewers, water works, and other structures and operate them, 
collect up garbage and haul it away and dispose of it and do many 
things which are not feasible in less densely populated sections, such 
as lighting their streets, maintaining their own constabulary, and 
many other activities. 

So also they may levy taxes, establish a taxing system, collect 
their taxes and disburse them. In these and all other things the limit 
and extent of their authority is to be found always in- their charter, 
which is merely the legislative act creating the corporation and de¬ 
fining its powers The charter is the constitution of the city. 

The general provisions of a charter are those which define the terri¬ 
torial boundaries of the corporation, provide that the inhabitants 
within that territory shall be a body corporate and politic, enumerate 
the powers thaj; the corporation may exercise, and lay out for them 
a framework of government. The various officers of the corpora¬ 
tion are described and titles given, their powers, duties and functions 
are prescribed, and the method is pointed out by which they are to be 
selected. Usually some or all of them are elected by the people of 
the corporation, but the legislature could, if it saw fit to do so, name 
the officers itself. Indeed in many of the older towns of Georgia if 
was quite common for the legislature to name the first body of of¬ 
ficers, and they could continue indefinitely to do so if they so desired. 
In fact many of the more recent charters did the same thing. Gen¬ 
erally however the selection of the principal officers is left to election 

Municipal corporations are generally more highly organized than 
counties. In almost every case the governmental functions, like 
those of the state itself, are divided into legislative, executive and 
judicial. Usually the chief executive is styled a mayor, and his func¬ 
tions are similar to those of the governor in state matters. Like the 
state, most of the towns and cities pursue the policy, by state author¬ 
ity, of electing many of their executive officers instead of leaving 
them to be appointed by the mayor and removed at his pleasure. 
The same causes which led the state into this policy led the cities 
into it, and it is followed by the same tendency toward inefficiency. 

The legislative powers of a town or city are usually vested in 
a body called the town council, or board of aldermen, or some simi¬ 
lar name In some cases, the legislative body is bi-cameral, as is 
the state legislature, one body being called the council and the other 
the aldermen. In such cases legislation generally requires the con¬ 
sent of both bodies. In the majority of towns and cities the legis¬ 
lature is unicameral. 

It is quite common to divide the town into wards and allow each 
ward to elect its own representative in the council. No reason ex¬ 
ists, however, why the councilmen might not be elected by the entire 
population, and this is frequently done. All these details depend 
entirely upon the legislative will as expressed in the charter. Gen- 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


71 


©rally the legislature provides such details as the people of the com¬ 
munity wish. In addition to dealing with the subjects already indi¬ 
cated, the council is generally given considerable latitude in taking 
action and making laws on private conduct and relations, even going 
to the extent of creating, defining and punishing misdemeanors. It 
can not, however, generally make any law on a subject covered by a 
state law, and can not in any case make laws that conflict with a 
state law. 

The town has a judicial department of its own for the trial of 
offenses against its own laws. This court is generally held by the 
mayor or by some councilman deputized by him* In the larger cities 
it is usual to create a special office for that purpose, generally called 
the recorder The charter always puts a limit to the amount of 
fines that can be imposed by this officer, as well as to the length of 
imprisonment to which he can subject an offender. 

As illustrating the wide range of difference in charters, the char¬ 
ter of Atlanta, as it stood in 1910, covered 150 pages of printed 
matter, and at present probably covers twice that many. The origi¬ 
nal charter of Decatur, granted in 1823, covered only a page and a 
half. This charter named the governing body in the legislative act, 
but provided for the election of their successors. Their powers were 
“to make such by-laws and regulations, and to inflict such pains, 
penalties and forfeitures, and do such other incorporated acts as 
in their judgment shall be most conducive to the good order and gov¬ 
ernment of the town,” with the proviso that their by-laws be con¬ 
sistent with the laws of the state. The present charter of Decatur 
calls it a city and is a long document conferring almost as exten¬ 
sive authority as that of Atlanta. 

So the town of East Lake, as chartered in 1908, was provided 
with a mayor and two councilmen appointed by the legislature, their 
successors to be elected. It had no power to levy a tax. Its pres¬ 
ent charter is almost as extensive as Decatur's and it has and exer¬ 
cises the power to maintain public schools. It can and does levy as 
heavy a tax rate as Atlanta and supports a very fine public school^ 

There has been much discussion and some feeling of late years 
in many towns over the form of town government. The usual legis¬ 
lative body is, as already explained, by a council of elected repre¬ 
sentatives with very varying authority, the chief executive power 
being vested in a mayor elected by the people. One form of change 
proposed is what is ealled the commission form of government. 
There is no exact definition anywhere of just what this means, but 
it usually contemplates a much smaller board, of about five commis¬ 
sioners, eaeh of whom is exclusively in charge of some one depart¬ 
ment of affairs, the whole having a supervisory authority. It also 
contemplates, generally, that one of the commissioners shall be chosen 
as mayor, but with rather limited power. The most outstanding 



72 


Studies in Citizenship foe Georgia Women 


feature of this proposal is that it combines legislative and executive 
authority. Its advocates contend that it makes for greater prompti¬ 
tude and efficiency in public matters. Its opponents deny this to 
some extent, but their principal objection is that it involves too much 
power in one man. 

A more recent variation of this proposal contemplates what is 
called a city manager. This officer would be, to a large extent, an 
executive, and quite like a mayor, except that he would be more 
subject than the mayor to the orders of the commissioners. This 
also, it is contended, would make for greater efficiency. 

It is not within the scope of this article to express any opinion 
on the wisdom or unwisdom of either of the proposed changes Un¬ 
doubtedly ether of them would show a tendency toward greater effi¬ 
ciency. The plan of the Scotch cities is somewhat like the city man¬ 
ager proposal, except that the manager is called town clerk. The 
plan has worked well in Glasgow. How far it would improve con¬ 
ditions in our cities is by no means certain. Many cities in America 
and some in Georgia have tried it, and the testimony as to results 
is conflicting. 

One thing may probably be put down as certain, that no form 
of city government, whether the old or the new, will show any per¬ 
manent beneficial results greater than what is efficiently demanded 
by the people at the ballot box. A people have always a government 
that exactly reflects the combined value of their patriotism, dili¬ 
gence, intelligence and attention to civic duty at the ballot box. If 
they are indifferent as to their duty there, or choose their officers 
for unworthy motives, or with por judgment, the government they 
get will be proportionately unsatisfactory and the result will be 
substantially the same, no matter what the form of government may 
be, and no matter what they call it. 

QUESTIONS 

1 — What is the relation of a municipal corporation to the state? 
How is its charter obtained? 

2— What kind of powers does a charter confer upon a city gov¬ 
ernment? Illustrate with the city of Atlanta. 

3— What are the general provisions of a charter? How are city 
officers elected? 

4— Discuss the organization of municipal corporations. De¬ 
scribe the legislative and judical bodies. 

5— Illustrate the wide range of dfference between charters of 
dicerent towns 

6— Discuss the commission form of government. What is its out¬ 
standing feature? 

7— How does the city-manager plan differ from the commission 
form? 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


73 


Lesson XV. 

THE PRIMARY ELECTION SYSTEM 

by Hon. Hooper Alexander 

The system of primary elections is a peculiarity in the American 
system of government. Speaking in a general sense, primary elec¬ 
tions are unknown to the law. This statement, however, is to be 
taken with the qualification that of late years there has been an in¬ 
creasing tendency for the law to interfere with them and to seek 
to control them. 

Primary elections owe their existence more to the example of 
Georgia than of any other state, and to the other southern states, 
more than that of the rest of the country. In this state they found 
their raison d’etre, soon after the Civil War, in the desire of the 
white people and the democratic party, to escape the consequences 
of the 15th amendment to the federal constitution. The theory was 
that it was necessary for the members of the democratic party to 
agree among themselves on candidates for office so as to avoid dis- 
sentions in the party and present a united front to the republican 
party in the legal elections. 

At first there was a great deal of difference among the several 
counties in the methods employed. In some counties the democrats 
met in so-called mass meetings in the court house and there nomi¬ 
nated county officers. In others the several militia districts held sim¬ 
ilar district mass meetings and selected delegates to a county con¬ 
vention, and the convention thus formed agreed on such candidates. 
By somewhat similar methods nominations were made for other offi¬ 
cers representing larger constituencies, such as state senatorial dis¬ 
tricts and the state as a whole. 

None of these activities were known at all to the law. They were 
purely voluntary and there was no other obligation to compel con¬ 
formity to those nominations than the sense of honor among those 
who participated, binding them to abide the result. 

Nearly fifty years ago there began to exist many complaints 
against the system, principally arising from the fact that relatively 
few voters attended the mass meetings and these were largely domi¬ 
nated by the office holders at the Court House and by those who 
made politics a profession. 

Gradually there worked out of this a system of voluntary elections 
conducted by ballot, conforming largely to the system of legal elec¬ 
tions. At first there was no expense attached to the holding of these 
voluntary primary elections, as they came to be called. Later on 



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there grew up a practice in the counties that need such elections,, 
under which the managing committees of the party assessed the 
candidates and used the money thus raised for paying the expenses- 
Before this practice began, every candidate printed his own tickets- 
The result was that at any election in a county there were hundreds of 
different tickets, presenting all sorts of combinations so as to please 
every voter. After the assessment plan became common the practice 
grew up of the committee printing the ballots and putting on them 
the name of every candidate for each office, leaving the voter to 
erase the names ©f those whom he did not want. 

When the practice became general of resorting to these primaries 
it began to be perceived that there was a grave evil in the fact that 
anybody could vote, whether he was a legal voter or not. The elec¬ 
tion being purely voluntary and unknown to the law, there was no 
penalty for unauthorized voting or even for repeating At first, the 
party authorities endeavored to correct this evil by refusing to give 
a certificate of nomination even to a successful candidate who re¬ 
fused to conform to their rules, and by refusing to allow any demo¬ 
crat to vote at all unless he was registered for the legal election. 

There were many difficulties in carrying out this policy, and there 
arose an ever increasing demand for legislation in aid of the party. 
About 1900 was the first beginning of such legislation. At first it 
was confined to laws making it criminal to participate in a party 
pritnary except in obedience to the party rules. These laws were, 
perhaps, consistent with sound principle, as long as they left it to 
the party to make its own rules, and merely lent to any party the 
aid of the state to enforce their rules. In doing this it was, of 
course, improper to legislate for any one party. 

The laws, therefore, were not professly made for the democratic 
party, but for any and all parties. They were of course intended 
for that party alone, however, and not for the republican party, and 
the republican party has never paid any attention to them, but 
makes its nominations according to its own will. Nobody ever at¬ 
tempts to enforce them against the republicans, and so both par¬ 
ties are satisfied. 

In 1917 the first step was taken by the legislature In the direc¬ 
tion of any attempt to control the party will by law. This was an act 
generally known as the Neill Primary Law, the principal feature of 
which was a requirement establishing the County Unit basis of repre¬ 
sentation. In order to understand this it is necessary to recount a 
little history. 

When the primary election system became pretty general in the 
state, one of its incidents was that a state convention of delegates, 
elected at primaries in the different counties, assembled every two 
years to nominate democratic candidates for state officers, and, in 
the proper years, for United States senators. About 1905 there arose 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 75 


some complaint in Georgia to the effect that the biennial party con¬ 
tentions were unfairly constituted in this, that the counties ought 
to have representation in that body in proportion to their voting 
strength. The matter was fully canvassed and discussed in a heated 
campaign lasting over a year and the resultant constitutional con- 
tion in 1906 provided that nominations for state wide officers should 
be made directly at the ballot box, in the primaries, so that every 
voter should have equal power, whether he lived in a large county 
or a small one. Such a plan was followed for the next two years, 
but the persons in control of the party machinery soon went back 
to the county unit plan, the injustice of which is too obvious for 
comment. 

The matter, however, had become one of serious feeling, and in 
1917 the legislature passed what is known as the Neill primary law. 
which compelled all parties to make their nominations that way. As 
a law it was without any value whatever, because it provided no 
method for compelling obedience to its terms. Its persuasive force, 
however, was, and is, considerable. The democratic party has thus 
far obeyed it, and will continue to do so, until such time as it oper¬ 
ates to the disadvantage of those who favor the plan. They will 
then disregard it, as, of course, they have the legal right to do 

In 1922 the legislature enacted a law for the professed purpose 
of putting into operation the so-called Australian ballot in legal elec¬ 
tions. As primaries only are being here discussed, no attempt will 
be made to analyze generally the provisions of this law. Whether 
it was wise to intertwine with it an attempt to apply some of its 
provisions to primaries, is a matter on whch there is room for a dif¬ 
ference of opinion. Such an attempt was made. In so far as it 
dealt with primaries it was to some extent required to conform to 
the will of the parties affected, or to the will of the constituted 
authorities of the parties It undertook, however, in other partic¬ 
ulars to control the party will. This involves a total departure from 
the fundamental theory of primary elections. The value of such a 
system depends and must always depend entirely upon the theory 
that it is a purely voluntary thing, wholly independent of law and 
outside of the law. As already herein suggested, there can be no 
serious objection t-o such legislation as aims merely to protect the 
party in its voluntary policies, and punish those who perpetrate 
fraud on the party or vote fraudulently at the party elections, or in 
disobedience of the party rules. The minute such legislation goes 
beyond that point, and seeks to substitute the will of the legislature- 
for the will of the party, the party authority is destroyed, the pri¬ 
mary loses its significance, and the widest kind of a door is opened 
to tyranny and oppression. For instance, if it is competent for the 
legislature to control the party in its own processes, the Georgia 




76 


Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women* 


legislature could provide such laws as would make it impossible for 
the republican party to nominate candidates at all. 

This, of course, will not happen because the republicans pay no 
attention either to the law of 1917 or that of 1922. The people who 
made this law do not care and nobody cares now whether the repub¬ 
licans obey it or not. But suppose the situation be reversed. If it 
is competent for the state to control party administration, it is equally 
competent for the federal government to do so. Suppose the congress 
should undertake to provide by law that no party shall exclude any 
person from its primary elections on account of his race, color or 
previous condition of servitude. The primary system was invented 
by Georgia as to avoid this very provision applicable to legal elec¬ 
tions In order to do so, they purposely made it voluntary, and pur¬ 
posely put it outside the pale of law. It is a dangerous precedent 
that the legislature is establishing in this matter, and they who are 
doing it are playing with fire. The whole civilization of the South 
depends upon keeping the white primary outside of the control of 
law, and making the voluntary will of the white people the law of 
their primary. 

Is so far as the law of 1922 attempts to secure secrecy in the 
ballot and prevent interference with the voter in marking his ballot, 
either in the legal elections or in the primary, the purpose is to be 
commended. The law itself, however, is cumbersome and impracti- 
able, as drawn, and will not prove operative. 

In so far as it provides for an official ballot, giving to some func¬ 
tionary, either of the law, or the party, the right to put some names 
on the ballot or exclude others from it, no more dangerous proposi¬ 
tion has ever been made is Georgia. The essence of a free ballot 
consists in the untrammeled right of every voter to put on his bal¬ 
lot the names of the persons he wants to vote for, and to write his 
entire ballot if he chooses. 

Whatever of danger or evils is expressed in this law, however, 
it may be certainly be counted on, will be capable of being avoided 
in the primaries, whenever the public chooses to avoid it, for the 
very simple reason that there is no possible legal way to enforce it, 
or compel obedience to it, in a primary election. The real evil of 
it in the primaries lies in the fact that the political manipulators who 
control the party machinery will obey it when it suits them to do so, 
and disobey it and disregard it, the first time it interferes with their 
plans or works to their disadvantage. Unfortunately many good 
people, hoodwinked and misled by its seeming purpose to secure a 
fair election system, will lend it their support, and erroneously be* 
lieve that it will work for good. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


77 


QUESTIONS 

1— Where did primary elections originate? Explain the causes 
for their origin. 

2— Discuss the early methods employed. Show how they differed 
in various states. 

3— What is the assessment plan as related to primaries, and why 
was it put into practice? 

4— What evils grew out of these voluntary elections? What at* 
tempts were made to overcome them? 

5— For what purpose was the Neill Primary Law promulgated? 
What is its value as a law? 

6— How did the legislature attempt to apply the Australian bal¬ 
lot to primaries and with what success? 

7 — What is the real value and significance of the primary? How 
could the legislature destroy its signficance? 



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Studies in Citizenship foe Geoegia Women 


Lesson XVI. 

HOW A BILL GOES THROUGH THE LEGISLATURE. 

by Host. John T. Boifeuillet 

The evolution of a bill in the General Assembly is highly interest¬ 
ing. The process of development is well worth observing by the 
uninformed in legislative procedure. It is engaging to watch the 
progress of a measure along parliamentary channels. 

The practice in the introduction and passage of a bill is practically 
and essentially identical in the Senate and House. For the purposes 
of this article, the system pursued in the House will be explained. 
The operation proceeds in accordance with certain fixed rules, some 
of which are a part of the Constitution of Georgia itself, and all of 
which are published in the “Manual of the General Assembly of the 
State of Georgia.” It is prescribed that the rules of the House known 
as constitutional rules, shall in no case be suspended; all other rules 
shall in no case be suspended, nor changed, except by a vote of two- 
thirds of the members voting in favor of said change or suspension. 

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays the Clerk calls the roll of 
counties for the introduction of bills, beginning alternately at the 
first and last of the alphabet. 

All bills must be written by hand or typewriter, or printed, us¬ 
ually on paper of conventional size, and must have the name of the 
representative introducing the bill, as well as the county he repre¬ 
sents, and the caption, or title, of the bill, endorsed on the back. 
No member is allowed to introduce more than one bill of a general 
nature on any day, except companion bills. 

It is the duty of the clerk to place on each bill, as it is read the 
first time, a number following the numerical order in which said bills 
are read the first time. He also records the date when the bill is thus 
read, and the committee to which it is referred. The journal clerk 
makes a similar entry in the Journal of the House, together with 
the name of the introducer of the bill, and his county, and the cap¬ 
tion of the bill. A like entry is recorded by the calendar clerk on the 
Calendar of the House, who, subsequently, as, also, does the journal 
clerk, records whatever additional actions are taken on the bill in 
the course of its progress in the General Assembly. 

Upon the introduction of a bill the Speaker commits it to the 
proper committee unless otherwise ordered by the House. Oc¬ 
casionally, a bill is ordered “engrossed,” instead of being committed, 
in which event it is not amendable thereafter unless later committed 
to a standing committee composed of a limited numbers of members. 



Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


79 


An “engrossed” bill is considered by the committee of the whole 
House. 

In committee, a bill is subject to discussion by advocates and op¬ 
ponents of the same; it can be amended, or a substitute adopted. The 
committee,, through its chairman, reports its action to the House. 
All reports of a committee must be in writing, and the minority of 
a committee may make a report in writing, setting forth succinctly 
the reasons for their dissent. Amendments proposed by a committee 
may be amended or rejected by the House, and matters stricken out 
by the committee may be restored by the House. No committee 
shall deface or interline a bill referred to it, but shall report any 
amendment recommended on a separate paper, noting the section, 
page or line to which said amendment relates. 

If a committee retains a bill in its custody or control for ten 
days without reporting on it, the author of the measure, or any repre¬ 
sentative, has the right to make a motion instructing such committee 
to report the bill back to the House; and, if the motion prevails, it 
is the duty of the committee to report such bill, with or without re¬ 
commendation, and upon failure of the committee to report, the bill 
is automatically returned to the House for consideration. 

When the report of a committee is favorable to the passage of a 
bill the same is read a second time and passed to a third reading. 
Where the report is unfavorable, on the second reading thereof, the 
question shall be on agreeing to the report of the committee. If the 
report is agreed to, the bill is lost. If the report is disagreed to, the 
bill is passed to a third reading unless recommitted. Any bill may 
be withdrawn at any stage thereof by consent of the House. 

Every bill, before it shall pass, shall be read three times, and on 
three separate days in each house. Each of the three readings of 
general bills must be full and complete. The first and second read¬ 
ings of local bills must be by titles only. The third reading of local 
bills must be full and complete. When a bill is upon its passage, on 
the third reading, the whole matter is open for discussion. 

No bill shall become a law unless it shall receive a majority of 
the votes of all the members elected to each branch of the General 
Assembly, and it shall in every instance, appear on the Journal. No 
bill appropriating money shall become a law, unless, upon its passage, 
the yeas and nays in the House and Senate are recorded. Whenever 
the Constitution requires a vote of two-thirds for the passage of a 
bill, the yeas and nays shall be entered on the Journal. The yeas and 
nays on any question shall, at the desire of one-fifth of the members 
present, be entered on the Journal. No bill shall pass which contains 
matter different from what is expressed in the title thereof, or which 
refers to more than one subject matter. No local or special bill shall 
be passed unless notice of the intention to apply therefor shall have 
been published in the locality where the matter or thing to be affected 



8Q Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


may be situated, which notice shall be given at least thirty days prior 
to the introduction of the bill into the General Assembly and in the 
bill shall be passed. 

Bills are called in numerical order in which they stand on the 
manner to be prescribed by law. The evidence of such notice having 
been published shall be exhibited in the General Assembly before a 
calendar, and before reading any bill the third time the Clerk shall 
distinctly state its number and the name of the member by whom 
introduced, also the caption. 

Upon the passage of a bill the Clerk has it engrossed, hand¬ 
written with pen and ink on large, special size, white sheets of paper. 
The committee on Engrossing, consisting of members of the House, 
carefully compares the engrossed copy with the original, correcting 
any errors that may be discovered in the engrosed bill. 

Then the Clerk, in a special message, transmits the bill to the 
Senate to be acted on by that body, but no bill shall be transmitted 
to the Senate on the day of the passage thereof unless two-thirds of 
the members present shall so order. When the engrossed bill reaches 
the Senate it follows the same process there as was observed in the 
introduction and passage in the House. Should the Senate amend 
the bill the House must vote to concur in the amendments before the 
bill can become an Act. Should the House reject the amendments, 
then a conference committee of members of the Senate and House 
Is appointed to adjust the differences, and the agreement by the con¬ 
ferees is reported back to the House and Senate for action. 

If the engrossed bill passes in an amended shape, the Clerk has to 
re-engross the bill, with the amendments properly written in. The 
Clerk makes an enrolled bill, hand-written with pen and ink, from 
the engrossed bill, and on the same size paper used for the engrossed 
bill. The committee on enrollment compares the two bills for errors. 
An enrolled bill is the final copy of the measure which has passed 
both houses. It is sent to the Governor for his signature, and then to 
the Secretary of State to be filed for record, in perpetuo, in the 
archives of the commonwealth. The Governor is supposed to read 
all acts before signing them. The printed acts are made from the 
engrossed bills, and the proofs of the printed acts are carefully 
checked with the Engrossed acts before the bound volumes of the 
Acts are published. 

No bill which shall have been rejected by the House, shall be 
again proposed during the same session, under the same or any other 
title, without the consent of two-thirds of the House. 

All bills which have passed the General Assembly must be signed 
by the Speaker and Clerk of the House, and the President and Secre¬ 
tary of the Senate, before being sent to the Governor. The Consti¬ 
tution declares that the Governor shall have the revision of all bills 
passed by the Legislature before it shall become laws; but two- 




Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


81 


thirds of each branch of the General Assembly may pass a bill not¬ 
withstanding his dissent, and if any bill should not be returned by 
the Governor within five days (Sunday excepted) after it has been 
presented to him, it shall be a law, unless the General Assembly by 
their adjournment shall prevent its return. He may approve any 
appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same 
bill, and the latter shall not be effectual, unless passed by two-thirds 
of the Senate and House. 

When the Senate passes a bill which has been introduced in the 
Senate, it is transmitted to the House for its action, just as a House 
bill goes to the Senate for its consideration .Any kind of bill can 
originate in the Senate, except bills for raising revenue or appropriat¬ 
ing money, and such bills, by the mandate of the Constitution, shall 
originate in the House, but the senate may propose or concur in 
amendments, as in other bills. All proceedings touching the appro¬ 
priation of money shall be considered in the Committee of the 
Whole. 

Every legislative term consists of two annual sessions. Many 
hundreds of bills and resolutions are introduced into the House and 
Senate each year, and only a small proportion of them ever are en¬ 
acted in law. All measures not disposed of at the first session of a 
term go over as unfinished business to the next session, but, if they 
are unacted on then they can not be carried over to the new Legisla¬ 
ture, but they and the originals of all measures are filed with the 
State Department, which has had the care and preservation of the en¬ 
grossed and enrolled copies of the laws of Georgia from the beginning 
of the Commonwealth down to the present time. 

On the back of each engrossed and enrolled bill is the signature 
of the Clerk of the House and Secretary of the Senate, certifying 
that the bill originated in that branch of the General Assembly. 

The necessity of absolute accuracy in the reading of the en¬ 
grossed and enrolled copies, and the printed proofs of the same for 
the correction of errors, can be understood when it is remembered that 
the misplacing of a comma or a period by any of the clerks or print¬ 
ers may have the effect of causing the loss to the Senate of many 
thousands of dollars in revenue, or involving it in endless trouble. 
Only a subsequent Act of the Legislature can correct the error by ef¬ 
fecting a change. Once the Governor has signed a bill, it is a law of 
the State. The work of preparing a bill accurately is a responsible 
task. 

What has been written with reference to the evolution of a bill 
in the General Assembly is also applicable to joint resolution, intend¬ 
ed to have the effect of a law. 



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Studies in Citizenship for Georgia Women 


QUESTIONS 

1 — Mention some of the fixed rules for introducing a bill into 
the House. 

2— At what stage and before what body may advocates or 
opponents of a bill discuss its merits? 

3— What may the committee do with a bill? 

4— How many times must a bill be read before it is passed? 

5— What kind of bills require the yeas and nays to be recorded? 

6— What is the requirement in regard to local and special bills? 

7— What is meant by “engrossing” a bill? 

8— How does a bill get from the House to the Senate? 

9— Suppose the Senate amends a bill, what effect does that 
have? 

10— What is an enrollment bill? 

11— What five persons must sign all bills passed by the legis¬ 
lature? 

12— -Where are the bills finally filed for record? 

13— May the same bill be introduced twice during the same ses¬ 
sion of the legislature? 

14— If the Governor fails, or refuses to sign a bill, what happens? 

15— What kind of bill may not originate in the Senate? 



LEGISLATIVE CALENDAR FOR 1923 


COMPILED BY LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL OP WOMEN’S STATE ORGANIZATIONS 

OF GEORGIA. 


The Council is composed of the Federation of Women’s Clubs; Daughters of the 
American Revolution; United Daughters of the Confederacy; League of Women 
Voters; Kings Daughters; Women’s Christian Temperance Union; Federation of Busi¬ 
ness and Professional Women’s Clubs; Federation of Music Clubs; Parent-Teacher’s 
Association; Womans Auxiliary Good Roads Association; Woman’s Auxiliary Dixie 
Highway Association; sub-chairman Legislation, Forestry Association 

These organizations have as representatives in this Council, the Legislative chair¬ 
man and sub-chairmen of legislative committees. Presidents of all organizations are 
members of Council—Each organization has one vote 

The object is to prevent overlapping of Legislative effort by the various state 
organizations of women, and to enable organizations favoring the same legislation to 
unite theire efforts to obtain its passage. 

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ITSELF DOES NOT ENDORSE LEGISLATION. 


CALENDAR FOR 1923 


BILLS ENDORSED 

Protection of Women in Industry 

ENDORSING 

ORGANIZATIONS 

League of Women Voters, Federation of 
Women Clubs, Federation of Business and 
Professional Women’s Clubs, Women’s 
Christian Temperance Union, King’s 
Daughters. 

Increased Appropriation for the State 
Board of Public Welfare 

Federation of Women’s Clubs, League of 

Women Voters, Parent-Teacher’s Associa¬ 
tion, King’s Daughters, Daughters of the 
American Revolution. 

For the State to buy books, at the least 
price possible to school children, attend¬ 
ing public schools in the State. 

Daughters of the American Revolution 

Appropriation for the Georgia Training 
School for Mental Defectives 

League of Women Voters, Federation of 
Women’s Clubs, D. A. R., Parent-Teach¬ 
er’s Association, W. C. T. U. 

Appropriation for the Georgia Training 
School for Girls 

Federation of Women’s Clubs, League of 
Women Voters. D. A. R. 

Juvenile Court Law 

Ga. F. of W. C., League of Women Voters 

Permissive Kindergarten Bill (in Public 
Schools) 

Parent-Teacher’s Association, Federation 
of Women’s Clubs, W. C. T. U., League 
of W. V. 

Marriage Regulation Bill 

League of Women Voters, Federation of 
Women’s Clubs, W. C. T. U., D. A. R., 
King’s Daughters 

Increased Appropriation for State Library 
Commission 

Federation of Women’s Clubs 

Motor Light Law 

Ga. F. W. C.. D. A. R. 

Appropriation Smith-Lever Fund 

G. F. W. C., Parent-Teacher’s Association 

Appropriation Smith-Hughes Fund 

G. F. W. C. 

Appropriation Shephard-Towner Bill 

Federation of Women’s Clubs, League of 
Women Voters, D. A. R., W. C. T. U., 
King’s Daughters, Parent-Teacher’s As¬ 
sociation 

United Daughters of the Confederacy 

Appropriation for repairs for Winnie 

Davis Dormitory at State Normal School 
at Athens. Presented to the State by Ga. 
Division U. D. C. 

Censorship of Motion Pictures 

Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs, W. 
C. T. U., U. D. C., King ’s Daughters 

Bill for Good Roads 

G. F. W. C., D. A. R., W. C. T. U., 
King's Daughters, D. A. R., Good Roads 
Association, F. of B. and P. Women. 

Veteran’s pension Bill 

United Daughters of the Confederacy 

Study of the Constitution in Schools (as 
proposed by the American Bar Associa¬ 
tion Bill) 

Executive Board G. F. W. C., D. A. R. 

Forestry Bill 

Forrestry Association, G. F. W. C., D. A. 
R., W. C. T. U. 




















































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INTRODUCING OUR ADVERTISERS 

Mrs. Newton C. Wing, Business Manager. 

Mrs. Georgia Citizen, may I present Mr. Georgia Busi¬ 
ness Man? 

Since women do 90 per cent of all buying, a better ac¬ 
quaintanceship with the following firms should prove 
mutually helpful. In selecting these advertisers, each of 
a different kind, from the many good firms with which I 
have become acquainted during my home economics work 
in the Atlanta Woman's Club, my state work in the 
“Made-In-Georgia-Week" and my present “Better Homes 
Campaign," I had in mind those whose products con¬ 
tributed directly toward the welfare of the home, be¬ 
cause in the heart of every “new citizen" the dearest 
word will always be “home." 

As Mrs. Turman says in her introduction, “Our coun¬ 
try needs a hero very seldom, but she needs a good citizen 
every day." It seems to me that applies very truly to our 
advertisers. One and all, they not only have merchan¬ 
dise of the highest type, but they are all public-spirited 
and “good citizens." May they live long and prosper! 

How can we co-operate with them, who have made 
the publishing of this book possible? Well, let's suppose 
we need a good house. The L. W. Rogers Realty Com¬ 
pany, now extending its business throughout the state, 
has pleasant sites and well constructed homes. The Ster- 
chi Furnishing Co. has “everything from a teaspoon to a 
piano." In the living-room we can have a baby grand, a 
victrola and the best music from the Cable Piano Co. In 
a cozy chair by the fireside, we can read the splendid 
books on Citizenship by D. C. Heath Co. 

A dustless home, well-groomed draperies and ruge are 
assured by the Hoover Cleaner and our larder may be 
completely equipped by home manufacturers, such as the 
L. W. Rogers Grocery Company, that patriotic Georgia 
firm which made possible our existence during war times, 
and our continued welfare now; the Atlanta Milling 
Milling Company, whose slogan should be “Say it with 
flours," so good they are; “Piney Woods Georgia Cane 
Syrup," that good old Georgia product, which chums up 
naturally with hot cakes and waffles; Henards Mayon¬ 
naise, which you will agree is the best ever; and the uni¬ 
formly delicious cakes and breads of the American Baker¬ 
ies Company. Now just a peep into the refrigerator, to 
see if the “NuGrape" our Georgia nectar of the gods, is 
iced, and then we are ready for visitors. 


A Goal For Government 


would be that degree of perfection attained by the 
miller in the manufacture of 


! CAPITOL A [plain] 

and 

MISS DIXIE [self-rising] 




The South’s favorite flours 


Manufactured by 

ATLANTA MILLING CO. 


















REGISTFRED U. S. PATENT OFFICE 


A compound with Grape solids and color, reinforced 
with artificial flavor and color. 

Is made from rigidly pure, wholesome ingredients 
blended in a special process which gives it— 

A flavor you 

can’t forget 

Try Punch, it is a delicious bev¬ 

erage for use at teas, dances, bridge parties or any 
other social function. 

RECIPE: 

1 quart of A&QraPe Syrup 

4 quarts of water 
1 pound of sugar 
Juice from 6 lemons 
1-15c can of pineapple 
1 orange ( sliced very thin) 

JtkQsa& also is used as a base in making 
very delicious ices and sherberts. 

A&Gr*P* is sold at all soda founts and soft 

drink stands-and don’t forget 

_your grocer can supply you with a case for the 

home. 














“It’s the Plug Hat 
Gets the Snowballs” 



a HE first portable electric suction sweeper on the market was The 
It is the first today. 

Year in and year out it has renewed and reinforced its leadership by 
the unremitting thoroughness of its work. 

Only a product of unique and special virtue can do that. 

It is always the outstanding thing that is the tempting target; and like the 
leader in every field The Hoover is the focus of competitive attack. 

So far as we can learn, this attack assumes only one character. 

It does not deny the efficacy of Hoover design, Hoover construction, or 
Hoover performance. 

But it seeks to spread the impression that The Hoover is hard on rugs. 

* * 


Do you thinkTheHooverishardonrugs? 
If it were, would it be the largest selling 
electric cleaner in the world, with more 
than a million satisfied users? 

If it were, would it be the choice of rug 
experts as the preserver of carpetings be¬ 
yond price ? 

If it were, would more than 50,000 
users of many years' experience have 
voluntarily written us their enthusiastic 
indorsement? 

If it were, would more than 48% of our 
sales result from The Hoover being 
recommended by users to their friends? 
If it were, would from 30% to 40% of 
our sales be to persons who have owned 
other machines ? 

If it were, would more than $71,000,- 
000.00 worth of Hoovers have been sold, 


representing perhaps twice as much 
money as has been invested in any other 
cleaner? 

If it were, would leading merchants 
everywhere have risked the confidence of 
their trade by continuously indorsing 
The Hoover—many for over 14 years? 

If it were, would The Hoover be the 
standard against which all other cleaners 
are judged? 

If it were, would it enjoy the undeni¬ 
able leadership of the industry ? 

No, dear reader, The Hoover is not 
hard on rugs. 

It is only hard on competitors. 

The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio 
The oldest and largest makers of electric cleaners 
The Hoover is also made in Canada, at Hamilton, Ontario 


'Dfe HOOVER 

It BEATS • as it Sweeps as it Cleans 










To the Women of Qeorgia 


¥ 


The L. W. Rogers Company congratulates you 
on the splendid progress you are making in your 
activities along civic and State-wide lines. We 
admire you for the interest you feel—for the care¬ 
ful and conscientious study you are making to 
better fit yourselves in the exercise of your political 
rights—for your determination to take in the future 
more active interest in all matters that affect our 
State and our cities. 

The women of Georgia have always demonstra¬ 
ted their friendship for us. Their patronage-in¬ 
creasing from day to day—is highly appreciated— 
and as you are studying to improve future condi¬ 
tions in your community and State, so are we 
studying at all times the things we can do to best 
serve our friends and patrons, and at the same 
time serve best our State and country. 



L. W. ROGERS CO. 


Nearly 200 Pure Food Stores in the South 




THE GREATEST MUSIC CENTER 
OF THE SOUTH 


I N a quarter of a century this 
big, permanent institution has 
grown to be the South’s head¬ 
quarters for everything pertain¬ 
ing to music. 

Here, assembled under a single 
roof, is an array of the finest 
musical mrrchandi.se from every 
corner of the globe. 

Every known form of musical in¬ 
strument and musical accessory 
is here—Concert Grand Pianos, 
Baby Grands, Upright and Player 
Pianos, Music Rolls, Victrolas, 
Victor Records, Band, Orchestra 


and Parlor instruments, Sheet 
Music and a complete line of 
accessories. 

Because we are sponsors for every¬ 
thing that is good in music, this 
store has come to be the musical 
headquarters for musical people. 

We are extremely proud of our 
institution—proud of its progress, 
proud of its ideas and ideals. 

Few cities, regardless of size, en¬ 
joy a musical merchandising ser¬ 
vice such as this great store pro¬ 
vides. 


Home of the <0 82-84 North 


Celebrated 

Mason 

Hamlin 


^Piano Company 


* Broad Street 
Atlanta 



A (genuine Qeorgia Product 
of Qenuine Qoodness 

PINEY WOODS GEORGIA CANE 


SYRUP 

Made from the pure juice of the Georgia Cane—and nothing 
else. Made in the old-fashioned way in open kettles and 
evaporators. 

A table delight in thousands of homes. 

FOR SALE AT ALL LIVE GROCERS 

j CAIRO SYRUP COMPANY 

j ATLANTA, GA. CAIRO, GA. 
















m 


M 





)u]\ 


Fifteen Scores 



Five Fadories 


Wtiy- 

t/ii Cosis Less a t 


STERCHIS 





































































































HenarcPs Mayonnaise 
and 

Henard’s Relish 


Has 

the Flavor 
Without 
the Labor 


As fast as our salesmen can get over the territory we are 
placing these fine products all over the state and very soon 
the ladies in every town and city will be able to buy really 
fresh and wholesome Mayonnaise and Relish in easy-open- 
ing packages. 

NO WORRY — NO WORK — NO FAILURES 
Made in Atlanta by 

THE 

HENARD MAYONNAISE 
COMPANY 

1.12 East Ellis Street Telephone Ivy 6320 





































Smiling 

Children 

-HEALTH 



/^OOD BREAD IS their 
best food. It is the 
one richly ^nourishing food 
that does not overload ten- 
der, growing stomachs nor 
overtax their systems in 
their active play after meals. 


Growing boys and girls need lots of bread— 
encourage yours to eat more of it—less meat 
and heavy cakes and pies. Help them to be 
healthy—give them good bread! 


Wvuta, BREAD 

“Is Good Bread” 

Get a loaf today—your kiddies will love it 


—at your 
Grocers 


Two Sizes 

10c and 
15c 



AMERICAN BAKERIES COMPANY 






-1' 


TRAINING FOR CITIZENSHIP 

A notable group of new books in Civics 

DOLE’S THE YOUNG CITIZEN 
DOLE’S NEW AMERICAN CITIZEN 

Suitable for supplementary reading and class room study 
by boys and girls of grammar school age and by all persons 
interested in improving our citizenship. 

DUNN’S COMMUNITY CIVICS AND 
RURAL LIFE 

DUNN’S COMMUNITY CIVICS FOR 
CITY SCHOOLS 

Leading books by the foremost authority in the civics field, 
Arthur W. Dunn, Specialists in Civic Education of the 
United States Bureau of Education. 

Suitable for boys and girls of high school age and for all 
students of community civic affairs. 

WILLIAMSON’S PROBLEMS IN 
AMERICAN DEMOCRACY 

A charmingly written book dealing with the great current 
issues of American life, and affording practical training for 
those who must grapple with the economic, social and 
political problems of our own time. 

. i) 

Just the book for women who are interested in Americanism. 
An ideal text for classes in Citizenship in Women’s Clubs. 

D. C. HEATH & COMPANY 

63 N. PRYOR ST. ATLANTA, GA. 













> 






J 


















WOMEN ARE THE 
HOME- MAKERS 


♦ 

-- i 

i 

A Community , State or Nation thrives and endures j 
in proportion to its homes that are owned by the } 
people. Women are the buyers of homes. It is ! 
one of their most sacred ambitions--that of owning j 
the home in which they live. j 

One of the missions of our company is that of j 
selling homes. We believe in the principle that a | 
satisfied home-owner is one of the nation’s best as- ! 
sets. Virile citizenship implies a home-owning citi- i 
zenship. 

Women of Atlanta, and of Georgia, are invited to j 
take advantage of the efficient service we offer in the ! 
broad field of home-buying, home-building, home- J 
renting and investing in real estate. * | 

Our hearty endorsement is given the ‘ ‘ Better 1 
Citizenship ’ ’ movement which is sponsored by the j 
loyal, patriotic and intelligent women of Georgia. ! 


j 

L. W. ROGERS REALTY & 
TRUST COMPANY 

PALMER BUILDING - 29 N. FORSYTH STREET j 
ATLANTA, GEORGIA 













